TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
A New Year`s Card Game- Hyakunin Isshu Karuta (百人一首かるた) is a Gateway to the Sublime World of Classical Japanese Poetry
28 December, 2020
By Avi Landau
The special dishes and decorations, the visits to shrines or temples, the family gatherings, the greetings, even the pre-holiday cleanings, make O-Shogatsu ( the Japanese New Year Celebration) fascinating for me. They reveal how the Japanese make a clean break with the past and then make a fresh, new start- with wishes for the health, prosperity and happiness of the family, the community and the nation, manifesting itself in the amassing of ENGI-MONO (縁起物)- objects, words, colors, etc., which are believed to have a POSITIVE impact on the world. In addition, there are also objects, words, colors etc., which are compiled to keep all forms of misfortune away.