Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde) is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine of the Japanese New Year.
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Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde) is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine of the Japanese New Year.
01 · What it is
Living Tradition
Documented cultural tradition on record; family classification awaits an editor.
02 · Where & name
Japan
Written in its own script on record as 初詣.
03 · How it is doing
□□□□ (Not yet assessed)
Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
04 · Proof & reuse
2 cited sources
Every claim links to a public record below. Free to quote, teach, and share under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chapter Takeaways
NinenmairiNinenmairi (二年参り) is a style of Hatsumode.
Common Questions Answered on Record
What is Hatsumōde in plain words?
Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde) is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine of the Japanese New Year. In local script on record, it is written 初詣.
Where is Hatsumōde practised or documented?
Sources on this page place Hatsumōde in Japan.
What is the current condition of Hatsumōde today?
□□□□ (Not yet assessed): Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
How do I cite or share this Hatsumōde entry?
Cite as: "Hatsumōde." folkroom, https://folkroom.org/art-forms/hatsumode, text CC BY-SA, with attribution.
Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde) is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine of the Japanese New Year. Typically taking place on the first, second, or third day of the year, it is meant to bring a fresh start to the year. Hatsumōde is written with two kanji: the former means “first” and the latter means “visiting a shrine or temple.”
Many visit on the first, second, or third day of the year. Generally, wishes for the new year are made, new omamori (charms or amulets) are bought, and the old ones are returned to the shrine so they can be cremated. Major shrines throughout Japan often have long queues.
Most people in Japan outside of the retail and emergency service professions are off work from December 29 until January 3 of every year. It is during this time that the house is cleaned, debts are paid, friends and family are visited and gifts are exchanged. It is customary to spend the early morning of New Year's Day in domestic worship, followed by consumption of sake (toso) and special celebration food (e.g. osechi, zōni).
The tradition is believed to be fairly recent and primarily created during the Meiji era by railway companies seeking to drive custom.
Some shrines and temples have millions of visitors over the three days. Sensoji temple in Tokyo is the most popular one. 1
Ninenmairi
Ninenmairi (二年参り) is a style of Hatsumode. It is called a "two year visit" not because it takes place over two years but rather the event starts on New Year's Eve and ends on New Year's Day, thus happening over two years. People frequently write wishes for the year on Ema and Toshikoshi-soba is eaten an hour before midnight 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Hatsumōde”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
Hatsumōde is recorded in open cultural data. The structured record cited below does not describe the practice, and this entry has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2
The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. 2