Explore everyday life in Japan
November 3 is Culture Day in Japan. It’s a national holiday, and contrary to what you might think based on the name of this holiday, it is largely not a day of festivals and cultural celebrations. Though there do appear to be small cultural events in some towns and cities around the country, Culture Day is, for most people in Japan, just a day off from school and work, a day for going to shopping malls, museums, parks, and for doing regular things.
The history behind this day, from what I can gather, is interesting. Prior to World War II, November 3 was a holiday that celebrated the birthday of Emperor Meiji, also known as Meiji the Great, the 122nd Emperor of Japan. After the end of the war, in order to distance Japanese people from their loyalty to the Imperial Family and its imperial history, the occupational government supposedly banned this holiday. It is said that some people in the Japanese government at this time wanted to continue paying homage to Emperor Meiji, who they considered to be responsible for the creation of modern Japan. As a result, they replaced the former holiday with what is today known as Culture Day.
Another story regarding the creation of this holiday ties it to the new constitution that was adopted in Japan after World War II. Though this constitution was enacted on May 3, it was officially adopted on November 3. In order to acknowledge this act, it is said by some that a new holiday was created. Because a holiday had already been created to celebrate the anniversary of the constitution's official enactment, the holiday that was implemented on November 3 to mark the day of the constitution’s adoption became Culture Day, the motto of which was partially taken from the constitution itself and can be translated as “A day to carry forth our culture (the cultures of the world could also possibly be inserted here) and our love of both freedom and peace” ( 自由と平和を愛し、文化をすすめる日).
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.
Sources
http://haigyo.net/orange/?p=6493
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/文化の日
https://global.britannica.com/biography/Meiji
http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/japan/culture_day.php