WUNRN
JAPANESE GIRLS ATTEND TRADITIONAL
COMING OF AGE CEREMONY TO ENTER ADULTHOOD
Young girls dressed in traditional kimonos walk in snow to attend
the annual Coming-of-Age Day ceremony at an amusement park in
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2262107/Kimonos-mobile-phones-Young-women-embody-tradition-modernity-Japan-Coming-Age-event.html
Coming
of Age culture clash: Japan's young women celebrate entering adulthood with
traditional kimonos... and mobile phones
Chatting on
mobile phones while dressed in traditional ceremonial garb, these young
Japanese women embody a country of contrasts.
The giggling girls - who all turn 20 this year and officially enter adulthood - were attending a Coming of Age event at Disneyland Tokyo.
In exquisite scenes, snow fell in giant flakes as young ladies processed together in beautiful kimonos at theme parks and sparkling venues across Japan.
At times, the girls looked solemn and
reverential beneath translucent white umbrellas, with their matching fur stoles
wrapped tightly around their necks to keep out the cold.
At
others, they laughed hysterically with friends, clutching Disney carrier bags
and texting furiously - looking just like the tech-savvy, fashionable face of
Japanese popular culture today.
The elegant Furisode kimonos are likely to be
the most extravagant clothes a Japanese woman will wear until her wedding day.
The majority of young men celebrating wear
suits for the occasion, although some still wear the more traditional male
kimono.
A Furisode can cost in excess of £6,000
($10,000), so many rent the outfit to reduce the cost. Hours are spent in hairdressers
and salons getting ready for the big event.
Seijin no Hi, or Coming of Age Day, is a
national holiday that celebrates the transition into adulthood for young
Tokyoites, according to Tokyotopia.com.
They are now able to vote, legally buy
alcohol and tobacco and to be tried as adults if they break the law.
The ceremony came into being as a Shinto
religious rite for members of samurai families.
The boys' ceremony was originally called
Gempuku and could take place between the ages of 10 and 16.
During the event, they would be presented
with a headdress called an Eboshi and receive an adult male name denoting their
new role and responsibilities as an adult, such as marriage.
The girls' celebration, then called Mogi,
would occur during the ages of 12 and 16, when they would receive a special
kimono and be allowed to dress as an adult female for the first time.
The age of 20 was set as the year a young
person moved into adulthood in 1876, during the Edo period.
The modern version of the occasion came into
existence in 1948 and now takes place on the second Monday of January each
year.
A formal gathering attended by parents and
organised by government office 'Seijin Shiki' marks the start of proceedings.
In recent years, some young Tokyoites can be
heard heckling or letting off fireworks rather than listening dutifully to the
sometimes lengthy and serious speeches explaining their new responsibilities as
adults in society.
After that, many 20-year-olds visit a shrine
with their families before the day ends in a more relaxed manner with young
people gathering for parties with friends.