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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 n ...
ese decorations made for the New Year's. They are a type of '' yorishiro'', 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 with
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...
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 after
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
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 character ...
) 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 (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...
,
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, ...
, and sometimes ume tree sprigs which represent longevity, prosperity and steadfastness, respectively. "The fundamental function of the New Year ceremonies is to honor and receive the '' toshigami'' (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 in
Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
as .


Gallery

File:Gate with pine branches for the New Year,kadomatsu (kanto),katori-city,japan.JPG, ''Kadomatsu'' of East Japan (
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. Sl ...
) 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 metropoli ...
) 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 character ...
File:Shimane Kadomatsu - various - Jan 5 2018 17 14 50 897000.jpeg, A flat topped ''kadomatsu'' in Shimane 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 A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...
*
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 English ...
*
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 * Three Friends of Winter * Trees in mythology


References

2
The Hawaii Herald
Articles containing video clips New Year in Japan Shinto {{Japan-culture-stub