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日本人の祭り好き
クリスマスはもちろんのこと、感謝祭、ハロウィーンなど、どの国のどんなお祭でも祝ってしまう日本人。筆者はこの現象にずいぶん戸惑っている…。
Japan's Foreign Fetes
By GWEN A. ROBINSON
Is Japan a nation of party-going
revelers? One might think so from its enthusiastic embrace of all kinds of feasts and festivals. Sometimes it seems that
almost any excuse will do.
Since late October alone, I've witnessed
first the invasion of pumpkins and witches' hats for Halloween in Tokyo, with
restaurants, clubs and schools staging special parties and parades for kids as
well as adults. And now I'm looking at Thanksgiving turkey sales in local
supermarkets and banquet promotions at
restaurants and hotels.
Then, of course, there are the lavish
Christmas preparations being made by stores and numerous other establishments. Soon, too, we'll be hearing
that ubiquitous electronic carol music blasting out of shops and restaurants. Rarely have I witnessed such Christmas
frenzy. In many cases, the decorations in large Tokyo department stores
and hotels are so elaborate that they outdo anything I've seen in New York or
London.
But there seems to be something missing in
Japan's whole approach to celebrating Christmas: the underlying rationale for the occasion. I know
the children of some of my Japanese friends love the decorations and sing the
Christmas carols, but they don't know what the
feast is all about. Anyway, there isn't much time to dwell on the event before the New Year
festivities arrive.
Then along comes Valentine's Day with hearts and flowery greetings in all the
big shops, followed by the curious ― and entirely Japanese ―"White Day." In March, St. Patrick's Day, and later on, Easter, have also made
their mark on Japanese society and in commercial circles.
We mustn't forget, of course, that in between all these imported festivals,
there are the various Japanese traditional celebrations, from local matsuri in
every village and town to major national fetes such as O-bon. Few countries,
in fact, seem to have as many traditional festivals and national days as
Japan.
As an Australian, I come from a country which mainly celebrates its own national day and the common Christian
festivals of Christmas and Easter. Halloween and Thanksgiving are strictly for Americans and pass unnoticed in Australia, as they do in other
Western countries. So I'm particularly struck
by Japan's overwhelming enthusiasm for foreign festivals and feasts.
It seems particularly strange to me for people
of any nationality other than Americans to give thanks with the forefathers of the United States. Also,
Christmas and Easter celebrations seem incongruous in a country with only a tiny
handful of practicing Christians. But then,
so does the popularity of Christian weddings in chapels and churches.
Would Japanese think it strange if Americans adopted O-bon as a national festival?
I suppose one of the most memorable comments on the whole phenomenon of Japan's imported celebrations
came one St. Patrick's Day, when I encountered a happy group of young
Japanese in a Roppongi bar. They were wearing green clothes and drinking
green beer, specially colored in honor of
Ireland's major national festival. "So who was St. Patrick, and what are you
celebrating?" I asked. Their reply was: "I don't know ... some guy who liked
green, and it's fun to celebrate!"
Is Japan a nation of party-going
revelers? One might think so from its enthusiastic embrace of all kinds of feasts and festivals. Sometimes it seems that
almost any excuse will do.
Since late October alone, I've witnessed
first the invasion of pumpkins and witches' hats for Halloween in Tokyo, with
restaurants, clubs and schools staging special parties and parades for kids as
well as adults. And now I'm looking at Thanksgiving turkey sales in local
supermarkets and banquet promotions at
restaurants and hotels.
Then, of course, there are the lavish
Christmas preparations being made by stores and numerous other establishments. Soon, too, we'll be hearing
that ubiquitous electronic carol music blasting out of shops and restaurants. Rarely have I witnessed such Christmas
frenzy. In many cases, the decorations in large Tokyo department stores
and hotels are so elaborate that they outdo anything I've seen in New York or
London.
But there seems to be something missing in
Japan's whole approach to celebrating Christmas: the underlying rationale for the occasion. I know
the children of some of my Japanese friends love the decorations and sing the
Christmas carols, but they don't know what the
feast is all about. Anyway, there isn't much time to dwell on the event before the New Year
festivities arrive.
Then along comes Valentine's Day with hearts and flowery greetings in all the
big shops, followed by the curious ― and entirely Japanese ―"White Day." In March, St. Patrick's Day, and later on, Easter, have also made
their mark on Japanese society and in commercial circles.
We mustn't forget, of course, that in between all these imported festivals,
there are the various Japanese traditional celebrations, from local matsuri in
every village and town to major national fetes such as O-bon. Few countries,
in fact, seem to have as many traditional festivals and national days as
Japan.
As an Australian, I come from a country which mainly celebrates its own national day and the common Christian
festivals of Christmas and Easter. Halloween and Thanksgiving are strictly for Americans and pass unnoticed in Australia, as they do in other
Western countries. So I'm particularly struck
by Japan's overwhelming enthusiasm for foreign festivals and feasts.
It seems particularly strange to me for people
of any nationality other than Americans to give thanks with the forefathers of the United States. Also,
Christmas and Easter celebrations seem incongruous in a country with only a tiny
handful of practicing Christians. But then,
so does the popularity of Christian weddings in chapels and churches.
Would Japanese think it strange if Americans adopted O-bon as a national festival?
I suppose one of the most memorable comments on the whole phenomenon of Japan's imported celebrations
came one St. Patrick's Day, when I encountered a happy group of young
Japanese in a Roppongi bar. They were wearing green clothes and drinking
green beer, specially colored in honor of
Ireland's major national festival. "So who was St. Patrick, and what are you
celebrating?" I asked. Their reply was: "I don't know ... some guy who liked
green, and it's fun to celebrate!"
Shukan ST: Nov. 22, 1996
(C) All rights reserved
o11-15chu.htm
- fetes
- 祭り
- party-going revelers
- パーティーに出かけて騒ぐ人
- enthusiastic embrace of 〜
- いそいそと〜を取り入れること
- feasts and festivals
- 祭り
- almost any excuse will do
- ほとんどどんな口実でもかまわない
- (have)witnessed
- 目撃している
- invasion
- 侵略
- witches'
- 魔女の
- Thanksgiving turkey
- 感謝祭の七面鳥
- banquet promotions
- 宴会の宣伝
- lavish
- 派手な
- establishments
- レストラン、ホテル、施設など
- ubiquitous
- 至るところにある
- 〜 blasting out of 〜
- 〜から鳴り響く〜
- Rarely have I witnessed such Christmas frenzy
- そんなクリスマスのばか騒ぎはこれまでめったに見なかった
- elaborate
- 手が込んでいる
- outdo 〜
- 〜をしのぐ
- something missing
- 何か欠けている
- underlying rationale for the occasion
- お祝いの元になっている理由
- what 〜 is all about
- そのお祭りとは一体何なのか
- dwell on 〜
- 〜について考える
- curious
- 不思議な
- entirely Japanese
- 完全に日本だけの
- St. Patrick's Day
- アイルランドの守護聖人、聖パトリックの祭日(3月17日)。アイルランドの国の色である緑色のものを身につけて祝う
- (have)made their mark on 〜
- 〜で祝われている
- commercial circles
- 商業関係
- national day
- 建国記念日
- are strictly for 〜
- 〜だけのものである
- unnoticed
- かえりみられずに
- (am)particularly struck by 〜
- 〜に特にびっくりしている
- people of any nationality other than 〜
- 〜以外の国民
- forefathers
- 祖先
- incongruous
- つじつまの合わない
- practicing 〜
- 熱心な〜
- adopted 〜 as 〜
- 〜を〜として取り入れる
- phenomenon
- 現象
- in honor of 〜
- 〜を祝して