{"id":6552,"date":"2020-12-11T20:22:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T20:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=6552"},"modified":"2021-04-07T07:17:10","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T07:17:10","slug":"a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"A Month Even A Priest Must Run \u2013 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The month of December is the most important month for us Japanese.\u00a0December is called \u201c\u5e2b\u8d70\u201d(shiwasu).\u00a0There are many theories about where this name originated from.\u00a0 But the most popular and common one, and you hear it on TV all the time when the month of December starts, is that this is \u201ca month that even a priest must run around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And December is indeed the busiest month. Of course, a lot of parties!\u00a0Some are <u>obligatory<\/u>(\u7fa9\u52d9\u7684\u306agimutekina) ones like office parties and business client parties, but most are truly fun with your friends.\u00a0 These parties are called \u201c\u5fd8\u5e74\u4f1a\u201d(bonenkai, literally forget the year party).\u00a0 We have to make a reservation for a party quite early, and one person, trusted and responsible, will handle everything \u2013 this position is called \u201c\u5e79\u4e8b\u201d(kanji).<\/p>\n<p>Here is a great comedy video that describes how a Japanese bonenkai goes \u2013 please be aware that this is a comedy but it is so true!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NAMIKIBASHI  \u65e5\u672c\u306e\u5f62\u300c\u5bb4 \u300d\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LxFjc99HWRs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Americans face the new year quite a different way.\u00a0 It is somewhat a <u>jaded<\/u>(\u75b2\u308c\u5207\u3063\u305f\u3001tsukarekitta) holiday after Christmas.\u00a0 It is just a holiday, and you work on January 2 as if nothing happened.<\/p>\n<p>When I was a child, you finished your grocery shopping by 12\/31 as everything closed for a few days.\u00a0 There was a manga about a man who almost <u>starved to death<\/u>(\u9913\u6b7b\u3059\u308bgashisuru) when he did not do grocery shopping by 12\/31.\u00a0 As I do not like the traditional New Year dish called \u304a\u305b\u3061\u6599\u7406(osechi), I used to buy KFC on 12\/31 before everything closed up. As my family has owned a grocery store for about 400 years (obviously, it was not always the grocery store, and it converted back to the liquor store a few years ago) 12\/31 was the busiest day.\u00a0 My parents worked late and had the \u5e74\u8d8a\u3057\u305d\u3070(toshikoshi soba) with their employees at the store, while my older sister and I had the \u5e74\u8d8a\u3057\u305d\u3070alone at home with our beloved dog.<\/p>\n<p>Business closed up before New Year\u2019s Eve so that many people in Tokyo could go back to see their families.\u00a0 Highways, shinkansen, and flights were packed.\u00a0 Then, we, who lived in Tokyo for generations, could get the city back.<\/p>\n<p>So what are osechi and toshikoshi soba?<\/p>\n<p>Osechi dishes are traditional Japanese New Year foods, and each food represents something.\u00a0I will have <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Osechi\">Wiki<\/a> explain what they are.<\/p>\n<p>The video below\u00a0describes how to cook osechi. They look tasty but most of the foods are very foreign to children and even to adults\u00a0 You may want to eat some on the first day out of curiosity, but not 3 days in a row!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u4ee4\u548c3\u5e74\u304a\u305b\u3061\u6599\u7406\u304c\u3067\u304d\u308b\u307e\u3067\u3010\u65e5\u672c\u6599\u7406 \u82b1\u83f1\u3011\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dCSke_5iTTE?start=1283&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6923\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6923\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6923\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-350x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-6923\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/fan4tian2-10816052\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4431164\">Lawson Yamazaki<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4431164\">Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Toshikoshi Soba is soba that you eat over the change of years.\u00a0Soba noodles being long, it represents long life.<\/p>\n<p>Most Japanese spent time in front of the TV, watching \u7d05\u767d\u6b4c\u5408\u6226(Kohaku Utagassen, a music show) that started in 1951.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the crazy busy December 31, a big bell at a local temple was rung 108 times before midnight until the New Year started.\u00a0 It is called \u9664\u591c\u306e\u9418(Joya no Kane.) 108 represents human worldly desires known as \u7169\u60a9(bonno), and each strike of the bell drives away those desires.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u9664\u591c\u306e\u9418\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t53IwSX-Ogg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This is one of the most famous Joya no Kane events, but you can enjoy the sounds of Joya no Kane at your local temple.<\/p>\n<p>And voila!\u00a0 New Year came and everything got so quiet for a few days unless you went to visit shrines. We spent the entire time watching special TV programs.\u00a0 Your busy parents were at home for a change.\u00a0 You had some family time.\u00a0 While Christmas in Japan was purely commercial and celebrated with friends, New Year was a family affair.<\/p>\n<p>So this was the New Year\u2019s Past\u2026\u00a0 Next post will cover New Year\u2019s Present.\u00a0 So stay tuned!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"232\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-350x232.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/12\/soba-noodles-4431164_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>The month of December is the most important month for us Japanese.\u00a0December is called \u201c\u5e2b\u8d70\u201d(shiwasu).\u00a0There are many theories about where this name originated from.\u00a0 But the most popular and common one, and you hear it on TV all the time when the month of December starts, is that this is \u201ca month that even a&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/a-month-even-a-priest-must-run-part-1\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":6923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,505759],"tags":[510881,547583,547859,3339,548041],"class_list":["post-6552","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-vocabulary","tag-joya-no-kane","tag-old-new-year-tradition","tag-osechi","tag-party","tag-toshikoshi-soba"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6552"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6928,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6552\/revisions\/6928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}