Today is the start of a week of holidays for Japan called Golden Week.
This week isn't a single holiday celebrated for a week. Rather it is a set of four holidays that happen to fall on the same week.
During this week, businesses are usually closed and families take the time to travel in Japan to visit relatives and, of course, to celebrate. This is why for foreigners this is the worst time to travel to Japan as the train and airports are extremely crowded. Not to mention you can't get reservations anywhere.
Today is the first holiday to start off the week. It is called Showa Day 「昭和の日」. This is a day to commemorate the Showa era, the time that Emperor Showa (1901–1989) reigned.
This day isn't one that is for celebrating, and has created a stir of controversy in its establishment. This day was originally celebrated as the Emperor's Birthday during Emperor Showa's reign. After his death, it was changed to Greenery Day in an out of the way naming to commemorate the emperor's love of nature without mentioning his name. In 2007, Greenery Day was moved to May 4th, and this day was named Showa Day.
The purpose of this day is remembrance. The Showa Era brought much change in Japan. It was a time where contact with the west brought modernization into the country. This time marks the Sino-Japanese War and World War II, and the democracy that was established afterwards. It was from all this that Japan's economy grew into one of the strongest in the world.
From a Japanese video about Showa Day, I found this top voted comment that I find best embodies the meaning of this holiday:
「日本の為、戦争で犠牲になった先人達、英霊に対し、このようなク
ズが出てしことを誠に申し訳ないです。」
"For Japan's sake, for our ancestors that were sacrificed in the war, and to face the spirits of the dead;
it is for what came out of this debris that we truly give our thanks."
Golden Week
Today is the start of a week of holidays for Japan called Golden Week.
This week isn't a single holiday celebrated for a week. Rather it is a set of four holidays that happen to fall on the same week.
During this week, businesses are usually closed and families take the time to travel in Japan to visit relatives and, of course, to celebrate. This is why for foreigners this is the worst time to travel to Japan as the train and airports are extremely crowded. Not to mention you can't get reservations anywhere.
Today is the first holiday to start off the week. It is called Showa Day 「昭和の日」. This is a day to commemorate the Showa era, the time that Emperor Showa (1901–1989) reigned.
This day isn't one that is for celebrating, and has created a stir of controversy in its establishment. This day was originally celebrated as the Emperor's Birthday during Emperor Showa's reign. After his death, it was changed to Greenery Day in an out of the way naming to commemorate the emperor's love of nature without mentioning his name. In 2007, Greenery Day was moved to May 4th, and this day was named Showa Day.
The purpose of this day is remembrance. The Showa Era brought much change in Japan. It was a time where contact with the west brought modernization into the country. This time marks the Sino-Japanese War and World War II, and the democracy that was established afterwards. It was from all this that Japan's economy grew into one of the strongest in the world.
From a Japanese video about Showa Day, I found this top voted comment that I find best embodies the meaning of this holiday:
「日本の為、戦争で犠牲になった先人達、英霊に対し、このようなク
ズが出てしことを誠に申し訳ないです。」
"For Japan's sake, for our ancestors that were sacrificed in the war, and to face the spirits of the dead;
it is for what came out of this debris that we truly give our thanks."