Clothing for life's milestones

Shichi-Go-San: celebrating a child’s growth

Seijin-shiki: a local celebration at twenty

A seijin-shiki is a local Japanese ceremony celebrating and encouraging young people, commonly a school-year cohort reaching twenty. Japan’s civil age of adulthood is eighteen: the ceremony marks a life stage rather than granting legal adult status.

Shinto weddings: ritual combinations and modern expansion

A Shinto wedding takes place before the kami; its rites and sequence vary by venue.

Furisode: long sleeves and changing wearers

Hakama: different cuts beneath a familiar outline

Hakama is a family of lower-body garments with divided and undivided forms. Court, warrior, ritual, work, martial-arts and modern school settings give the name a wider history than either samurai trousers or graduation dress alone.

Shiromuku: the layers of a white bridal outfit

Miyamairi: a newborn’s first shrine visit

Miyamairi is a newborn’s first shrine visit, expressing thanks for birth and wishes for healthy growth. It can also connect the child with the community that worships a local tutelary kami, or protective deity. Timing, clothing and accompanying relatives vary.

Yuinō: engagement expressed through gifts

Yuinō is a Japanese engagement practice in which gifts, money and a meeting acknowledge a marriage agreement. The objects, return gifts, intermediary and setting vary among regions and families.

Mizuhiki gifts: paper cords, knots and occasions

Mizuhiki are decorative paper cords used on gift wrapping and ceremonial money envelopes. Knot, colour, inscription and wrapping work together, with conventions that vary by occasion and region.

Households in Japan: living units and family relationships

Setai, usually translated as household, describes a living unit and is used in population and living-conditions surveys. It is not identical to a family: one person can form a household, while relatives can belong to separate households.