January 29, 2010
Coming of Age Day
On the twentieth year of a Japanese person's life they attend a "Coming of Age" celebration at the town hall of their place of birth. This occasion is on the second Monday of every January in Japan. Twenty is quite a big age for Japanese people as they're now considered adults. It entitles them to make adult decisions such as to vote, smoke (a big cultural habit in Japan), drink, or gamble (even though Casino's are illegal in Japan). I'm sure there are more benefits with being 20 but I am not quite sure what they are.
On the day, as I said, people go to their town hall and have a kind of ceremony celebrating the day. The Japanese 20 year olds attending the event dress up in Kimonos (both boy and girl kimonos are available). However in recent years many men have traded in the Kimono for a suit. This is obviously from the Western influence on Japan.
The picture attached to this blog is myself with 5 Kimono clad girls who generously allowed me to have a photo with them, all the girls on the day were dressed up really beautifully.