New Year's Day

New Year's Day in Japan, celebrated on January 1, is the central date of Shōgatsu, the country’s most important annual holiday season. In 2026, New Year’s Day falls on Thursday, January 1. Although Japanese New Year customs developed from older indigenous beliefs about welcoming Toshigami, the deity associated with the new year and a good harvest, they were also influenced by Chinese calendrical traditions and court culture. For centuries, Japan observed the New Year according to a lunisolar calendar, but the Meiji government adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, establishing January 1 as the official New Year’s Day.

Japanese New Year celebrations traditionally begin on New Year’s Eve, when families clean their homes, prepare festive foods, and listen to temple bells ring 108 times in the Joya no Kane ritual, symbolizing the cleansing of worldly desires. Homes may be decorated with kadomatsu arrangements of pine, bamboo, and plum, shimenawa sacred ropes, and kagami mochi rice-cake offerings. During the first days of January, many people visit Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples for hatsumōde, the year’s first religious visit, where they pray for health, prosperity, and family well-being. Some also watch the first sunrise, known as hatsuhinode, as a symbol of renewal.", "background_info": "New Year’s Day in Japan, celebrated on January 1, is the central date of Shōgatsu, the country’s most important annual holiday season. In 2026, New Year’s Day falls on Thursday, January 1. Although Japanese New Year customs developed from older indigenous beliefs about welcoming Toshigami, the deity associated with the new year and a good harvest, they were also influenced by Chinese calendrical traditions and court culture. For centuries, Japan observed the New Year according to a lunisolar calendar, but the Meiji government adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, establishing January 1 as the official New Year’s Day.", "traditions": "Japanese New Year celebrations traditionally begin on New Year’s Eve, when families clean their homes, prepare festive foods, and listen to temple bells ring 108 times in the Joya no Kane ritual, symbolizing the cleansing of worldly desires. Homes may be decorated with kadomatsu arrangements of pine, bamboo, and plum, shimenawa sacred ropes, and kagami mochi rice-cake offerings. During the first days of January, many people visit Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples for hatsumōde, the year’s first religious visit, where they pray for health, prosperity, and family well-being. Some also watch the first sunrise, known as hatsuhinode, as a symbol of renewal.

Families commonly share osechi ryōri, an assortment of auspicious dishes packed in layered jubako boxes. Typical foods include sweet black beans, herring roe, rolled omelet, simmered vegetables, shrimp, and red-and-white fish cakes, each carrying symbolic meanings such as health, fertility, longevity, or happiness. Ozōni, a regional rice-cake soup, is another popular New Year dish, while otoso, a spiced ceremonial sake, may be served to promote health. Children often receive otoshidama money in decorative envelopes, and relatives exchange nengajō New Year’s cards. The standard greeting is “Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu” (“Happy New Year”); before January 1, people say “Yoi o-toshi o” (“Have a good New Year”).