Japanese Language Blog

May Day isn’t really a national holiday in Japan, but it’s considered an informal day off for public sector workers. While most people view it as a day of rest, trade unions try to maximize their exposure on this day. There are three major trade unions, but the trade union with the most members is RENGO. RENGO stands for Nihon Rōdōkumiai Sōrengōkai (日本労働組合総連合会) or Japanese Trade Union Confederation. It’s estimated that there are around 6 million members involved with RENGO.

In fact, there are all sorts of unions. There’s even a union for part time and foreign workers called the Kyabakura Union (キャバクラユニオン). Although membership in labor unions have steadily declined by the 1980s, labor unions still play an important role in Japanese companies. Labor unions and companies in Japan still collaborate on issues such as pay, benefits and other business issues. Of course, throughout the years, some labor unions have lost their bargaining leverage with the bad economy.

However, labor unions in Japan still have a visible presence by organizing and rallying on events such as May Day. Although labor unions still rally like before, there is more caution placed on not seeming too radical. It’s because socialism gained its height in Japan in the 1920s, and some members of the older generation still view the Communist Party of Japan with suspicion. In the 1930s, several prominent communist leaders were imprisoned and their property confiscated.

Basically, it was a really ugly, unpleasant, and tumultuous time in Japanese history, and labor unions are careful not to bring up old associations with this party. At the rallies, people make speeches and wave banners, nothing more extreme than that. Here’s an example, of what might go on in a typical rally :

In Japan, the twenty-third of November is きんろうかんしゃのひ, or Labor Thanksgiving Day. (きんろう = labor. かんしゃ = thanks, gratitude. の = no particle. ひ = day.) Labor Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday where people remember all the hard work done in the agricultural industry, the service industry and many other industries. I think nowadays people are also starting to give thanks to the labor women do in the household as well, but the idea that household work is “work” hasn’t fully caught on in Japan. On this day people give a small present, (like a box of chocolates) to their co-workers and bosses.

The 交番 (kouban) are especially honored on Labor Thanksgiving Day. The 交番 is a term used to refer to small neighborhood police stations. These neighborhood police stations are different from the centralized and larger police stations in that the neighborhood police stations can interact with the people in the neighborhood at a more initimate level than the bigger police stations. If you ever get lost in Japan, get the assistance of the 交番. They are very helpful and friendly. On Labor Thanksgiving Day, school children often draw pictures and present them as giving thanks for all that the hard work of the 交番.

Originally, きんろうかんしゃのひ was a festival called にいなめさい. にいなめさい was a festival that celebrated the rice harvest festival. The reigning emperor at the time would give thanks to the gods for a rich harvest in a ceremonial festival. After World War II, to reflect the fact that Japan was no longer a primarily agricultural society, the shift changed to honor all types of work, not just agricultural work. Also, after World War II, Labor Thanksgiving Day became a platform for human and worker’s rights organizations to denounce some of the injustices concerning human  and worker’s rights.

Some cities hold parades to honor all the occupations within the city. Some hold peace demonstrations. For some people Labor Thanksgiving Day is a day of rest and relaxation. Unlike the Thanksgiving Day celebrated in the U.S., the Japanese version is more focused on resting and honoring the occupations rather than eating good food and spending time with family. A good phrase you can use on this day is おつかれさまでした, which means “thanks for your hard work” or “you did good work” or “you worked hard”. There’s no direct translation for this in English, but that’s what it means.

体育の日 (Taiiku no Hi) is Health and Sports Day in Japan. 体育の日 is held in October to commemorate the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. To avoid the summer rains, Health and Sports Day is held in October, which is a fairly sunny month in Japan. Usually 体育の日 is held the second Monday of October, so that people can enjoy a three day weekend. 体育の日 is a national holiday encouraging an active lifestyle, especially for kids. It’s a day where communities come together to hold various events that involve physical exercise.

The day usually starts with a parade that features the events that will take place. Some common events include, three legged races, relay running races, and obstacle course races like jumping through tires. After the parade the national anthem is played and families perform the radio taiso (ラジオ体操). Radio taiso (ラジオ体操) is a stretching/warm up exercise created by the Japanese government after World War II. The exercises are presided by a speaker over the radio with some music that accompanies the exercises. On Health and Sports Day a speaker with a microphone may replace the ラジオ体操. 

My favorite event is the tsunahiki (綱引き) also known as the tug of war. This is where the whole community can participate and develop communal bonds. In fact, that’s probably one of the reasons why Health and Sports Day is so popular- people get a chance to socialize and create friendships through these activities. Although there is a competitive spirit to these games, there are also events emphasizing the importance of physical finesse rather than winning. For example there may be martial arts performances held by school clubs, where the focus is on form and discipline rather than winning a prize.

Towards the closing of the games public officials of the community usually give a speech thanking all the families that attended. Prizes are handed out and the winners are congradulated for their efforts. The great thing about Health and Sports Day is that everyone can participate in the events. Even senior citizens can participate in the traditional dances performed by each city. Young children are also taught these traditional dances in school, so provided you know the movements you could be moving to a synchronized dance with several dozen people. Health and Sports Day also allows everyone to get the physical exercise that modern day people sometimes lack; which is a good way to encourage an active lifestyle!