Japanese 'Coming of Age' Ceremonies

A picture of a 1953 Seijinshiki. Notice the more conservative style of dressing on both men and women and compare it to the picture of a Seijinshiki today.

My girlfriend's 2019 Seijinshiki. Notice how each girl is wearing a different designed kimono, both in the style and the color. This is what has led to many girls using the Seijinshiki to dress and appear extravagantly.

The Japanese "Coming of Age" Ceremony - Seijinshiki

Every culture around the world has rites around how people become adults and how they have achieved "maturity," whatever that may be defined as. These can be individual practices, such as between the maturing child and an already mature adult. Or, these rites can be large and public, like a party, such as a Quinceañera. In this case, the Japanese maturing rite of the Seijinshiki (成人式) would be an example of the large and party-like.

Meaning

So, what exactly does Seijinshiki mean? Well, like many other Japanese words, Seijinshiki is a compound word that combines two main ideas to form one big idea. Seijin (成人) means adult or matured person (Sei, 成, means becoming or growth, Jin, 人, means person, so Seijin, 成人, would mean "become person," or "growth towards being a person"). Shiki (式) means ceremony. So, if we put two and two together, Seijin + Shiki (成人 + 式) leads to Seijinshiki (成人式). This is translated to "ceremony of becoming a person," or "coming of age ceremony."

When it comes to Japan, however, it is important to recognize that in Japan, there are two adulthoods: legal adulthood and cultural adulthood. When looking at when a person can vote and hold a driver's license, the Japanese government declares it to be opened up at the age of 18. But, the Seijinshiki is held, alcohol is allowed by drunken, and an individual bank account can be opened at the age of 20. So, the cultural adulthood is met at the age of 20, but understand that the legal age of adulthood is at 18.

History of the Seijinshiki

The Seijinshiki is considered to be one of the newest rites that are part of the modern-day Japanese culture (Snoddy, 2013: 11). These ceremonies are held once a year in large banquet halls in almost every city within Japan. These buildings can be massive in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, where attendees rival that of U.S. high school graduations, to as small as a community center in cities like Kimitsu Or Funabashi, where attendees are quite minimal.

The first example of a Seijinshiki ceremony was known as the Seinensai, which came soon after the end of World War II. Since the new youth would be entering an era of peace, "The purpose of this ceremony was to “encourage the youth who will live in the upcoming era and give them bright hope” because Japan had just had to render an unconditional surrender and was occupied by the US, making the future look somewhat dull" (Snoddy, 2013: 11). This ceremony would eventually repeat every year, making it somewhat of a national holiday. Every second Monday of January is when the ceremony is to be held across all of Japan.

Seijinshiki Today

Today, the Seijinshiki, while still a major cultural rite, has become more of a modern way for men and women to get together with their old friends, and a way for the women to show off their fashion and looks. According to anthropologist Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni, "the theme of the coming to age is not in itself important for the participants. Most of the girls questioned regarded it mainly in terms of a social gathering and as an opportunity to be seen or displayed" (Goldstein-Gidoni, 1999: 356). Families will give their sons basic suits, but spend large amounts of money on kimonos for their daughters to be seen in. Some of these kimonos can be as expensive as ￥300,000 ($2,760). And, each of the kimonos are different which makes every picture seem like a collage of colors and designs.

The ceremony marks, not so much a change of status in society, but becomes a new way to label the people who have passed this rite, "It does not, however, necessarily indicate the end of adolescence. As a result, the general practice is to refer to a person's institutional identity…" (Brown, Reed, T., 2002: 143).

The amount of participation in the Seijinshiki fluctuated through history to fit the economic health of the Japanese state. When the economy was strong, families would purchase luxurious kimonos, but when the economy would weaken, the participation rate would fall, "many girls did not want to participate without a kimono or furisode, which are very expensive. They refused to participate because they did not want to be embarrassed being surrounded by other girls dressed up" (Snoddy, 2013: 23).

A problem that has come about more so in the modern-era is trouble-making behavior. Some participants will not pay attention, either talking to their friends or playing on their phone during the ceremony, "some youth even go as far as disrupting the ceremony by going up on stage…" (Snoddy, 2013: 24). These individuals can simply be removed from the ceremony or taken away in handcuffs by responding officers.

Even so, the ceremony still takes place every year, and while the participants may not have the same emotional connection to it as their parents, and the parents before them, many people still see it as an important aspect. It is a way for people to get back together with their elementary and middle schools friends since many of them become separated when choosing high schools and colleges. And, since the town votes-in a committee of students to help run these ceremonies, it allows for a type of community environment where everyone looks after each other to make the ceremony enjoyable (excluding the few that commit crimes and cause havoc during the procession.)

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Works Cited

Brown, B. B., Reed W. L., and T. S. S.. 2002. The World's Youth: Adolescence in Eight Regions of the Globe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Glum, J. 2015. “Japan Coming Of Age Day 2015: Facts About Japanese Holiday Celebrating Young People PHOTOS.” International Business Times. Retrieved October 17, 2019 (https://www.ibtimes.com/japan-coming-age-day-2015-facts-about-japanese-holiday-celebrating-young-people-1775200).

Goldstein-Gidoni, O. 1999. “Kimono and the Construction of Identities.” Ethnology 38(4):351–70. Retrieved October 17, 2019 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3773912?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents).

Igeta, A. 2002. “現代の「成人式」.” 〈性〉の通過儀礼 34–53. Retrieved October 17, 2019 (http://www.mkc.gr.jp/seitoku/pdf/f37-3.pdf).

Ishikawa, N. 2001. “着物と成人式の歴史.” モリス・ゼミ. Retrieved October 18, 2019 (http://www.mgu.ac.jp/~jfmorris/Sotsuron/2001/IshikawaNanae/Ishikawa.htm).

Muroi, Kosei. 2018. “現代民俗の形成と批判.” 専修人間科学論集 8(2):65–105. Retrieved October 17, 2019 (https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120006490967).

Snoddy, S. 2013. “Japan: Seijin and Idenity” edited by J. M. Rudolph. Retrieved October 17, 2019 (https://web.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-050613-142531/unrestricted/Japan_Seijin_Identity.pdf).