A Japanese Tradition

Keiro no Hi, "Respect for the Aged Day," is a national holiday celebrated annually to honor elderly citizens of Japan.

According to a reference source, Japanese families celebrated special ages of longevity. Honkegaeri is a celebration of when a person is 61.  On this day, the person is said to enter second childhood and is presented with red clothes, hood and zori (slippers).  Two other lesser-known events of celebration are Koki at age 70 and Kiju at age 77.  The fourth year of special celebration is Beiju at age 88. Beiju or yone-no-iwai became popular since the Japanese characters for 88, when written together, resemble the character for rice (yone, also read as bei).

From the beginning of history, rice was respected by the people for it was their food, their life, their very livelihood and happiness.  An integral and fundamental part of Japanese society, rice symbolized purity and goodness.  Thus the 88th birthday is celebrated as a happy and joyous occasion.

For many decades now, Iao UCC has adopted the tradition of Keiro no Hi to celebrate the elders in our faith community.  Lillian Maeda (1920 - 2016) recalled that the Rev. Teruo Kawata (Iao Congregational Church's pastor from 1958-1962) started the practice of the church honoring its senior members by holding a Keiro no Hi celebration for those attaining the ages of 80 and 88.