Nagara Senior 
High School
Japan 
502 - 0071
Gifu -shi
Nagara 
Saigo-cho 1716
Tel 
+ 058 231 1186
Fax 
+ 058 231 1188

nagaraHS@zzz.or.jp
jelede@yahoo.co.uk

O-SHOGATSU    1st January  (New year)
The new year is one of the chief traditional 
events of the year. We celebrate the new year. 
We eat 'Osechi'. (prepared dishes).We must cook 
Osechi before January 1st, so housewives can 
relax and so they don't have to cook dinner. 
Children receive 'Otoshidama' from grown-ups. 
It's money. The older the children are, the more 
money they can get. Children look forward to 
'Otoshidama' every year.
	We visit a temple and we wish for happiness 
for the new year. We display "Kagami-mochi". 
Kagami-mochi is a ricecake. Mochi (rice cakes)are 
made by pounding steamed rice. It is customary 
to eat them on New Years Day. It is put into a 
clear soup or in sweet bean soup , or broiled 
and seasoned wirth soy sauce.
                              By Natsuki Yanagi

SETSUBUN    (3rd February)
Setsubun falls on the day before Risshun. 
(Risshun is the first day of spring). 
It is the 3rd or 4th of February. Now 
its customs have been handed down in 
several places. On this day we often 
throw beans outside shouting :  "Oni 
wa soto-!, Fukuwa Uchi - !". (Devil 
go outside, luck come inside) But 
Fathers sometimes pretend to be Oni.
This photo is a memory of Setsubun 
about 10 years ago. She is my sister. 
At this time I was maybe only a few 
years old. I don't remember it in 
detail but only to find the photo was 
fun. So I like this ceremony even now.
(ps...After we throw beans, we eat one 
bean for every year of our age.)
                              by Yukie Tsuji

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY  14th February 
St. Valentine's Day is looked forward to more than any other day in the whole year. In fact St. Valentine 
used to be an event in Europe. However it was brought to Japan and given meanings which are different to 
its original one. It seems now as if it were originally an Japanese event. 
	In Japan, St.Valentine's Day is said to be a day when women (only) confess their love to the men 
closest to their hearts. Usually, women confess their love by giving chocolate and some presents. Some 
women buy expensive stuff as presents, such as ties, wallets, sweaters and watches. Despite this, most 
women make or buy alot of chocolate to give to the men around her. 
	Because of the sense of duty and group harmony peculiar to Japan we also have 'Giri' and 'Ninjyou' 
chocolate which is given to other male acquaintances , colleagues and members of family. Giri chocolate is 
a way of keeping good relationships although it has no romantic meaning. On Valentine's Day, 60% of the 
year's sales of chocolate are achieved.
	Most boys tend to compare and contend the number of chocolate they recieved with their friends.
If someone gets much more choclate than others, then he might start boasting about it contentedly. On the 
other hand, others can't help envying him. And some mothers assess their son's popularity by the amount of 
chocolate they were given.
	There is also a day however when men confess their love for the woman closest to their hearts and 
also to thank women. This day is called "White Day". It's the 14th of March.

                                       By Hitomi Maruyama

HINAMATSURI    (March 3rd)
In Japan, the 3rd of March is a special day. 
This day is called "Hinamatsuri". I like this 
day very much . Because I can see Hina dolls 
which are very beautiful and are on display 
only once a year.
I like listening to the music of Hinamatsuri 
too. The song is very famous.
	By the way, Hinamatsuri is a ceremony 
for girls. This day means to wish for the 
growth of girls. In fact , even now, I want 
to be as beautiful as Ohinasama. (a Japanese 
princess).So I always want to respect this 
day.

                             by Yukie Tsuji

HANAMI    (From end of March to beginning of April)
Hanami means cherry blossom viewing in English. 
We go to see cherry blossoms every year. And many 
people enjoy just looking at them, but some people 
enjoy eating or talking or singing or drinking 
alcohol and so on under the trees. Do you know 
how long cherry blossoms last for ? To tell the 
truth - only 2 or 3 days. But it is very beautiful. 
Japanese feel the blossoms represent life. So you 
can hear then saying : "Great !" and "beautiful! ".  

CHILDREN'S DAY 　(May 5th) by Tomohiko Satoh.

"Children's Day " is one of the famous festivals in Japan. 
It is held on May 5th. The May dolls are displayed in the 
homes of young boys to hope for health and growth. 
Carp (fish)- shaped streamers are also displayed outside 
the house. On this day we eat 'Chimaki' and 'Kashiwamochi'.
Chimaki are pounded rice cakes and kashiwamochi are also 
pounded rice cakes filled with sweet red beans and wrapped 
in the leaf of a Kashi tree. These are delicious. I like 
them very much, so I like this day. 

TANABATA  (7th JULY  ) by Tomohiko Satoh.
'Tanabata' is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. 
It is held on July 7th. We write wishes on oblong bits 
of card and tie them with string onto bamboo grass. Then 
we display them in the garden or balcony on this day. I 
used to write my wishes with my friends. So this event 
was a great treat for me.

OBON        (August 13th - 15th)
The Obon festival is one of the chief traditional 
events of the year. Our ancestor's spirits return 
back to the home in August from the 13th - 15th.  
We return to our home towns to entertain our 
ancestor's spirits every year. There we chant a 
sutra for our ancestor's spirits. And August 15th 
the spirits of our ancestors go back to the next 
world.
	We have the Obon dance. We wear Yukata. 
Yukata is a type of summer kimono. Yukata is more 
refreshing than Kimono. And we go to the temple 
or the park where we all dance.

HEALTH / SPORTS DAY   10th October
We exercise on this day. From children 
to grown-ups and even old men do sports. 
In fall season we do many things, sport, 
eat good food, read books and study. Sport 
especially is exciting in Fall. We have 
lunch with people we don't know and this 
day's lunch tastes especially good. After 
doing sport we feel happy and everyone 
thinks it's pleasant. 
NICE DAY !!!  
                          By Sachiko Hosono

SHICHI-GO-SAN Day (7-5-3 Day)23rd November
In Japan , odd numbers are very lucky. 
So when we are 3 or 5 or 7 years old, 
we go to the temple on this day to wish 
for our growth. And we suck candy called 
Chitose-ame. Chitose-ame means long-life 
candy.
                         by Ryosuke Naitoh

OHMISOKA    31st December  by  Ryosuke Naitoh
We call the last day of the year Ohmisoka.
On Ohmisoka, we clean our room, eat Toshikoshi-soba 
and listen to Toyanokane. 
We clean our room to wait for the new year in our best 
condition. Toshikoshi-soba means :  long- life noodles. 
We eat them for good health in the next year. The Kane 
part of Toyanokanemeans bell. We listen to the bell 108 
times after the stroke of 0:00am