New Year's is the most important traditional holiday celebrated in Japan. In the pre-World War II Osaka of my childhood, where my parents ran a shop that sold baby clothes and bedding, old customs and ...

Dozens of people soaked and splashed themselves in painfully icy cold water in a pool at a Tokyo shrine, adhering to Japanese ...

The Japanese convey their hopes for the new year through kakizome, the ritualized first calligraphy writing of the year. Kakizome, meaning "first writing," occurs within the initial days of the year.

The Japan-America Society of Northwest Florida (JAS) will usher in the “Year of the Snake” with its 31st annual Japanese New Year Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Wright Place in ...

Some of these foods, each with its own history and meaning, have come to be associated with the New Year's celebrations. Learn about five beautiful traditional Japanese foods for the New Year ...

which signaled a major political transformation in Japan, the country adopted the 365-day, January-to-December Gregorian calendar, placing the civil and cultural Japanese New Year on Jan. 1.

During oshogatsu (Japanese New Year), people in Japan huddle outside of temples and shrines to pray for an auspicious year, hands warmed by steaming cups of amazake (fermented rice drink).

TOKYO -- As the Lunar New Year approaches, Japanese department stores are enlisting influencers in their battle to attract ...

Kick off the new year with this umami-packed Japanese New Year’s soup from 2000 F&W Best New Chef Takashi Yagihashi, made with a soothing dashi broth and filled with grilled mochi, vegetables ...