JAPANESE SNAPSHOTS – #5 – HAPPY HALLOWEEN

 

In America, October means Fall, the leaves turn to red and gold, and we celebrate Halloween.

But in early October of 2018, it was still warm in Tokyo.  In fact, because it’s such a humid place, 80 degrees felt downright hot.  And the puffy white clouds were flying really low to the ground and seemed to hover and sail by just out of reach.   It hardly looked or felt like fall.

But regardless of the weather, the Japanese are absolutely crazy about Halloween.

Everywhere I went, there were elaborate Halloween decorations — in stores, train stations, restaurants, bars, hotels, public parks, and the many plazas where people gathered to play.  It was orange pumpkins, ghosts, witches, and goblins galore.

At first, I didn’t think it was odd to see all the Halloween decorations.  It felt like I was right at home.

But then I started to think more about it and I wondered why the Japanese would care at all about something so traditionally American?

I knew that our Halloween has its roots in pagan celebrations.  It originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain and was co-opted as Halloween by the early Church.  It’s original intent was to celebrate agriculture and the coming of winter.  The crops were in.  The barns were full.  It was about to get brutally cold.  Let’s party!  And all the nonsense about witches, ghosts, and silly costumes came much later.

But why would the Japanese join in this thoroughly Western celebration?  Was it a Japanese harvest festival for what traditionally was a nation of farmers?

I asked quite a few people and never found a soul who had the slightest idea what the hell Halloween was all about.  And as far as I can tell, they celebrate Halloween for the following six reasons:

1.  They love dressing up in costumes, this being a big part of their Shinto, Buddhist, and theatrical traditions.

2.  They are very superstitious, so the ghouls and goblins associated with Halloween are spirits they can genuinely get behind.

3.  They love candy.

4.  They like to party.

5.  Americans do it, so it must be cool.

6.  There’s money to be made.

And you want to know something even stranger?  Christmas is now one of the biggest and longest holidays in Japan.  The main shopping districts in every large city are lined with Christmas lights and trees throughout the month of December; and this in a nation where only one percent of the population is Christian and where I saw exactly three small churches during my travels around Honshu Island.  So, what’s next?  I’m thinking Easter, maybe?