Decorations, rice cakes and greeting cards have different roles in New Year observances.
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Shōgatsu can mean the first month or the cluster of celebrations around the New Year. Most Japanese celebrations now centre on 1 January, while Lunar New Year observances continue in some communities.
Kadomatsu are pine decorations placed at an entrance for New Year, commonly explained as markers for the visiting year deity. Paired pine-and-bamboo arrangements are familiar, but regional forms also include young pines with their roots attached.
Kagami mochi is a New Year offering associated with welcoming the toshigami, the deity of the new year. A familiar arrangement stacks two round rice cakes, with the smaller one above the larger.
The first shrine or temple visit of the new year, for thanks and prayer.
Before adopting the Gregorian calendar in 1873, Japan used successive lunisolar systems. Lunar phases set the months, while intercalation coordinated them with the solar year. Kyūreki now commonly means the final Tenpō system and calculations based on it.
Matsu is a Japanese name for pines, not a single species. Different pines appear in coastal planting, cultivated gardens, bonsai and New Year decorations. Pine groves also became subjects for ink-painted screens.
