In your country, how do you cerebrate for you to welcome into adulthood ?

In Japan, a person’s at age 20 is considered their welcome into adulthood. Since 1948, Coming-of-age ceremonies, known as seijin-siki are held on the second Monday of January. At the ceremony, all of the men and women participating are brought to a government building and listen to many speakers, similar to a graduation ceremony.

Turning age 20 has some legal effects.  You can have the right to smoke, drink, and vote. As a matter fact, drinking and smoking age is technically at age 20, actual age I should not disclose it here.  Big difference between age above 20 and below is when (and if) you commit crime (I hope this will never happen to you and myself), Juvenile law is not applicable from the birthday of age 20. Well I have never committed crime and I am not a lawyer, so I cannot tell about it in details.

But I can tell you about the fashion on the day of coming of age.  Women often wear furisode, a traditional Japanese formal kimono with long sleeves. At the end of ceremony, many of them go to shrine to pray for their transition from childhood to adulthood successfully.

In the day of Coming age, when I go out, I saw a lots of young girls who were wearing Furisode. When they are wearing those. they all look so pretty !!

They look like ‘Yamato-Nadeshiko (大和撫子）- an idealized Japanese woman’, but they live in the modern world same as like you ! When I tuned into 20, I was a collage student in the United States, so unfortunately, I did not have an experience of wearing Furisode and going to the ceremony. I really, really missed that !

At Sinjyuku

She is going to the ceremony.

Chatting with friends after the ceremony

In the train to Shibuya

She is 20, going to ceremony with her boyfriend ?

At Meiji-Jingu

Texting to who ?

after praying at Meiji-Jingu

Picture time ?

Michiyo Hijikata