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are traditional
File:Gate with pine branches for the New Year,kadomatsu (kanto),katori-city,japan.JPG, ''Kadomatsu'' of East Japan (
The Hawaii Herald
Articles containing video clips New Year in Japan Shinto {{Japan-culture-stub
are traditional Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese decorations made for the New Year's. They are a type of ''yorishiro
A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called , thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. are used during ceremonies to call the for worship. The word itself literally means "approach ...
'', or objects intended to welcome ancestral spirits or ''kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
'' of the harvest. ''Kadomatsu'' are usually placed in pairs in front of homes and buildings.
Construction and placement
Historically, ''kadomatsu'' was often made withpine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
wood, but these days bamboo is more common. The central portion of the ''kadomatsu'' is formed from three large bamboos, though plastic ''kadomatsu'' are available. After binding all the elements of the ''kadomatsu'', it is bound with a straw mat and newly woven straw rope. ''Kadomatsu'' are placed in pairs on either side of the gate, representing male and female.
Usage
In modern times, ''kadomatsu'' are placed afterChristmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
until January 7 (or January 15 during the Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
) and are considered temporary housing (''shintai
In Shinto, , or when the honorific prefix ''go''- is used, are physical objects worshipped at or near Shinto shrines as repositories in which spirits or ''kami'' reside.''Shintai'', Encyclopedia of Shinto ''Shintai'' used in Shrine Shinto (Jin ...
'') for ''kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
''. Designs for ''kadomatsu'' vary depending on region but are typically made of pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
, bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
, and sometimes ume
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
tree sprigs which represent longevity, prosperity and steadfastness, respectively. "The fundamental function of the New Year ceremonies is to honor and receive the ''toshigami
Ōtoshi (大歳神, Ōtoshi-no-kami; lit. "Great-Age God") or Nigihayahi (饒速日尊 Nigihayahi-no-mikoto), commonly known: Toshigami (年神, lit. "Year God") or Ōtoshi (大年神, Ōtoshi-no-kami; lit. "Great-Year God") is a Kami of the Sh ...
'' (deity), who will then bring a bountiful harvest for farmers and bestow the ancestors' blessing on everyone." After January 15 (or in many instances the 19th) the ''kadomatsu'' is burned to appease the ''kami'' or ''toshigami'' and release them.
Other information
The ''kadomatsu'' is included inUnicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...
as .
Gallery
Kantō region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...
)
File:Kadomatu18.JPG, ''Kadomatsu'' of West Japan (Kansai region
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...
)
File:小さな門松 - a small kadomatsu (25 cm) 1JAN2021.jpg, A small ''kadomatsu''
File:Minikadomatsu700en-2008.jpg, Three miniature ''kadomatsu'' being sold outside for 700 Yen each
File:Pair gate with pine branches for the New Year,kadomatsu,katori-city,japan.JPG, ''Kadomatsu''
File:Minikadomatsu-store-2008.jpg, A small ''kadomatsu'' in a store
File:Kadomatsu Kyoto JPN 001.jpg, A ''kadomatsu'' in Kyoto style
File:Edo_Kadomatsu01.JPG, ''Kadomatsu'' in the style of the Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
File:Shimane Kadomatsu - various - Jan 5 2018 17 14 50 897000.jpeg, A flat topped ''kadomatsu'' in Shimane
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguc ...
File:Kadomatsu-big-easyview-2009.jpg, ''Kadomatsu'' in Kamakura
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939.
Kamak ...
See also
*Christmas tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...
* Christmas wreath
* Corn dolly
Corn dollies or corn mothers are a form of straw work made as part of harvest customs of Europe before mechanization.
Before Christianisation, in traditional pagan European culture it was believed that the spirit of the corn (in American Englis ...
* Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
...
* New Year tree
New Year trees are decorated trees similar to Christmas trees that are displayed to specifically celebrate the New Year. They should not be confused with the practice of leaving up a Christmas tree until after New Year's Day (traditionally until ...
* Three Friends of Winter
The Three Friends of Winter is an art motif that comprises the pine, bamboo, and plum. . The Chinese celebrated the pine, bamboo and plum together, as they observed that these plants do not wither as the cold days deepen into the winter season ...
* Trees in mythology
Trees are significant in many of the world's mythologies, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. Human beings, observing the growth and death of trees, and the annual death and revival of their foliage, have often seen ...
References
2The Hawaii Herald
Articles containing video clips New Year in Japan Shinto {{Japan-culture-stub