JAPN Japanese New Year Traditions: Osechi, Hatsumode and Customs
Japanese New Year Traditions: Osechi, Hatsumode and Customs
New Year Customs
Japanese New Year (Shogatsu) runs from December 31 through January 3, and it is the most important holiday period in the calendar. Osechi ryori, the traditional New Year food served in tiered lacquer boxes, contains symbolic dishes: kuromame (black beans for health), kazunoko (herring roe for fertility), tazukuri (dried sardines for bountiful harvest), datemaki (sweet rolled omelet for scholarship), and kurikinton (chestnut paste for financial prosperity). Each dish is prepared before New Year’s Day because cooking during the first three days is considered inauspicious.
Hatsumode, the first shrine or temple visit of the year, draws over 80 million people during the first three days. Meiji Shrine in Tokyo draws three million visitors alone. Bells ring 108 times at Buddhist temples on New Year’s Eve (joya no kane) to dispel the 108 earthly desires in Buddhist teaching. Kadomatsu pine and bamboo decorations flank entrance doors, and shimenawa sacred ropes with paper streamers mark the transition to sacred New Year’s space.
Experiencing Shogatsu
Most businesses close from December 29 through January 3, and foreign visitors should plan accordingly with advance restaurant reservations and accommodation booking. Train services operate on holiday schedules but do not stop entirely. The atmosphere of quiet reflection and family gathering pervades the first days, with public spaces emptier than usual except for the packed shrine precincts.
Traditions and Food
Japanese New Year (shogatsu) spans December 31 through January 3, with most businesses closing for at least three days. Osechi-ryori, elaborately arranged boxes of preserved foods, is prepared in advance since no cooking should occur during the first three days. Each dish carries symbolic meaning: kazunoko herring roe for fertility, kuromame black beans for health, datemaki sweet rolled omelet for scholarship, and prawns for longevity (the curved back resembling an elderly person). Toshikoshi soba (year-crossing noodles) is eaten on New Year’s Eve as the long noodles symbolize longevity. At midnight, temple bells ring 108 times (joya no kane) to dispel the 108 worldly desires in Buddhist philosophy. On January 1 through 3, millions visit shrines for hatsumode, the first shrine visit, where they purchase new omamori amulets and fortune slips (omikuji) for the coming year.
The period from December 28 through January 3 essentially shuts down regular business in Japan. Companies close, most restaurants and shops close, and travel reaches peak congestion as Japanese return to their hometowns (sato-gaeri) for family gatherings. For travelers, this means booking transportation and accommodation months ahead, but it also means experiencing Japan’s most important cultural season: temple bells, shrine visits, traditional food, and the particular quiet of a nation collectively pausing for reflection and renewal.
Osechi-Ryori: The New Year Feast
Osechi-ryori is the elaborate multi-layered lacquerware box of traditional New Year foods, each dish carrying symbolic meaning. Kazunoko (herring roe) represents fertility and prosperity. Kuromame (sweet black soybeans) symbolize health, as mame also means diligent. Datemaki (sweet rolled omelette with fish paste) resembles a scroll, symbolizing scholarship. Ebi (prawns) are curved like elderly people, representing longevity. Konbu (kelp) is a pun on yorokobu (joy). Tazukuri (candied dried sardines) were once used as rice-paddy fertilizer, symbolizing abundant harvest.
Families traditionally prepare osechi in the days before January 1 so that no cooking is required during the first three days of the year (sanganichi), allowing the kitchen god rest. Department stores now sell pre-made osechi sets at 10,000 to 100,000 yen, ordered weeks in advance, with some featuring French, Italian, or Chinese twists alongside traditional items. On New Year’s morning, families eat ozoni, a mochi rice cake soup whose broth style varies dramatically by region: clear dashi in Kanto (eastern Japan) versus white miso in Kansai (western Japan), with round mochi in the west and rectangular mochi in the east.
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