Coming of Age Day

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Coming of Age Day

On the way back from picking mikang, we saw several young ladies dressed in kimonos and Bernard remembered that it was "Coming of Age Day" in Japan. Since we had time before the evening service, we decided to go see the colorful designs of the ladies kimonos and see if we could learn anything about the celebration. Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk to anyone who spoke English but Bernard was able to snap lots of photos of the women's outfits. I liked some of the kimonos that I saw but some were hideous. Also, the hairstyles that I saw were very crazy and it made it seem like the girls never combed their hair! The men at the ceremony were also sporting some crazy hairdos. One guy had a multicolored Mohawk that stood about 2 feet off his head. A few also had some serious mullets, like it was cool! My friends and I got a good laugh from their poor taste in hair style.

More photos: http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u53/kimdupak/Okinawa/Coming%!o(MISSING)f%!A(MISSING)ge%!D(MISSING)ay%!-(MISSING)%20Jan%!/(MISSING)


Coming of Age Day, Adulthood
By: Bill Charles, http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=9216
Date Posted: 2009-01-09

Seijin no Hi is coming up Monday, and it’s a big day for thousands of young people who turn 20 this year.

Coming of Age Day is Monday, and is a national holiday honoring youth who’ve reached the age of adulthood, where they can now legally drink, vote, be legally responsible for business decisions and even get married without parental consent. It’s a day to dress up in traditional Okinawa kimonos, participate in ceremonies, and take memorable photographs.

With many Okinawans already gathered in family homes for the Christmas and New Year holidays, ceremonies have already begun in advance of January 12th. At Kounan High School, graduates turning 20 this year held their own special ceremonies January 3rd, decked out in kimonos and with fancy hair decorations and coming together from all over Okinawa for the first time since their graduations two years ago. More than 100 turned out at the school, including parents, teachers and friends. Kounan High School received high marks from participants for organizing the festive ceremonies, with students praising organizers who knew where the graduates had gone, and how to get them back.

The Seijin no Hi holiday has been celebrated the second Monday in January since 2000, marking transition to adulthood. Centuries before, boys were viewed as coming of age at 15, while girls celebrated coming of age at the tender age of 13. In 1876, the government decreed 20 to be the legal age of adulthood.

On Okinawa, ceremonies take place with a variety of styles, some with puffy sleeves, elaborate designs and bright colors. Fursode, the most formal kimono worn by unmarried women, signifies the transition of young ladies to adulthood. Boys wear suits and ties to the ceremonies.

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