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New year's decorations
I speak with a local new year's decoration maker and vendor about the meaning behind such Japanese decorations. 99.12.28/ Temperature: 2C/ Weather: Partly cloudy/ Wind Direction: SE
Start: Kiryu City: 36 24 21 N 139 19 51 E
Destination: Sano City 36 18 50 N 139 34 47 E
Distance Traveled: 26 kmFor some reason for the first time on this long journey I could feel new years in the air. Leaving Kiryu this morning I passed through a small shopping arcade. Tall kadomatsu (new year's gate decoration pine) placed on either side of several store fronts marked the beginning of a series of inquiries about Japan's New Year's decorations.
Beyond the busy bustle of storefronts and passing by automobiles, to the north were the low pine forested hills of Tochigi Prefecture. A slight haze lifted off of the morning horizon and another day of exploration for wisdom began.
An elaborate Japanese new year's decoration. A twisted rice straw rope is decorated with sea bream, pine boughs, a Japanese orange, and a fan. Still in Kiryu I came upon a New Year's decoration vendor seated back behind two rows of straw rice and pine decorations. She delicately twisted leaves into a larger arrangement.
"These decoratins are hung once a year to observe the kami (gods) of one's house," she explained standing up from her chair. Elaborate decorations hung all around her. Twisted rope decorations with plastic fish, pine, and paper designs attached hung all around us. There were even separate parts for those who want to make their own.
The shop owner went on to politely explain the meanings of each part of her decorations. "The Japanese orange is called 'daidai.' This means generation after generation. When 'yuzuri leaves' grow anew, old leaves wither and return to the soil. The leaves also symbolize the continuation of families for generations."
Pine boughs hang from the entranceway of a house summoning the kami (gods). "'Tai' or sea bream on either side of the large decoration are used because we are 'medeTAI', which means we are happy or thankful."
I also learned that pine boughs decorated outside of homes are signals to the kami (gods) summoning them into each house.
Twisted rice straw rope also symbolizes the family's will to work hard throughout the year.
With each piece of the decoration symbolizing the livelihood of family and appreciation of the kami (gods) in one's house, what had formerly seemed like mere decorations came to have a new meaning for me. Perhaps many people today are unclear of the meaning of their decorations, it is easy to imagine that they once served as good tools to strengthen family ties and show respect for what people had in their daily lives. Japan ancestors probably thought long and hard when creating such a tradition.
Slightly impressed by the depth of meaning in each piece of the decorations, I pondered the significance of Christmas wreathes and the Christmas tree itself in my own American culture. If any of you participants in America know, please teach all of us in WSN.
Greg
PS. Do your seasonal decorations have similar meanings? Do you know if different regions in Japan have different decorations or different explanations for the use of decorations?
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