Coming of Age Day (成人の日)

I had no class on monday. The reason for this, is because it was a Japanese public holiday called Seijin no Hi (成人の日), or 'Coming of Age Day' which is held every year on the second monday of January. Pretty much it is a day for young people who have turned 20 in the past year to celebrate their new-found adulthood, as 20 years old is considered the age when one reaches adulthood (compared to Australia where it's 18 years old).

My girlfriend had explained to me previously that on the day, all the young people will dress up - girls dressing up in very beautiful kimonos (that are apparently so expensive, that many use rentals instead), whereas boys will normally wear business attires, though some supposedly wear traditional Japanese dress. I happened to go to Shijo that day, and it was easy to tell just who was celebrating their adulthood given the number of girls in kimonos and boys in business attire. Even at the Round 1 game center at Sanjo, all the girls were queuing up at the photo booths to do group shots with all their friends. Considering that there are already plenty of those booths available for use at Round 1 (with about another 4 placed outside, just in front of the entrance to the game center), it should give you an idea of how busy it was when I say everyone was queuing up.

Aside from young people being given the opportunity to dress in expensive and beautiful clothes, there is also a ceremony that is held every city ward across the country at 11:30 am. After the ceremony, there are usually parties among family and friends, and plenty of photos. Considering the cost of the kimonos worn for such a day (and you only turn 20 once) photos are apparently the main focus of the day.

From what I have read also, the rate of attendance of the Seijin no Hi ceremonies has been declining over the years. Aside from the cost of the Kimonos (which I guess is understandable), other reasons cited include that there are many who feel they aren't ready yet to take on the responsibilities that come with being an adult, and apparently young people in the past have been disrupting the ceremonies in protest, which I guess would turn people away from attending. However, the most likely cause would be simply the declining birthrate. It seems to be a combination of all these, which kind of sucks, especially for a once in a lifetime (literally) celebration.

Also, once Japanese people turn 20 years old, they can now (legally) do the following:
- Drink alcohol
- Smoke
- Vote

So yeah, another really intriguing national holiday here in Japan.