DATELINES:
Conway, Arkansas,
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
and
Tanabe, Japan,
Monday, January 13, 2003

Adulthood.

Coming of Age Day
In Japan Opens a New Phase
Of Rights and Responsibilities.

By Mai Tashima,
UCA undergraduate
and former IEP student.

From left: Yuka Nishiyama, a friend from high school, Miss Mai, and Kumi Sugiwaka, a friend from elementary school.

The second Monday of January is the special day for a person who becomes twenty-years-old in Japan. It's the Coming of Age Day. In Japanese we call the day Seijin no hi.

Why is the day important for us? Because we will be considered an adult and will be given some new rights and responsibilities, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, voting, marrying without parent's permission, and paying for the National Pension Fund. Also, if a person commits a crime, his or her real name will be announced in public. These are the big changes.

Almost all of the girls wear a traditional Japanese Kimono to celebrate the day. Guys wear a suit for that day. Because we don't wear the Kimono as casual wear anymore, this is a good opportunity to wear it. A Kimono is very expensive. Usually it costs at least $1,000 just to rent! That's why if we want to buy it, it will cost even more.

However, the ceremony happens only once in a lifetime, so people wear the Kimono as a remembrance. In my case, I wore my mom's. My grandma Shichie bought the Kimono on a shopping trip to Kyoto because she thought it would look lovely on my mother, Chikako. My mom kept it in good condition. That's why I could wear it. My grandma was very happy about it because it was inherited from generation to generation. Some of my friends also wore their mom's ceremonial Kimono.

A part of the Kimono is a corset, which wraps around the outside at the waist. It's very tight, which makes it difficult for us to move because we are not accustomed to wearing it. I walked like a snail at the beginning!

The Long Day Begins at Six.

My long day started at six in the morning. Before the ceremony, we have to make a reservation to get dressed in the Kimono and for styling the hair. My friend told me she had to go to the hair salon at three in the morning! That's why I was lucky.

First, I had the dressing session. It took a half hour to finish it. When we wear a Kimono, the shape should be straight. I don't know the reason, but maybe it's a kind of old Japanese custom. That's why I had towels on my waist and cotton for my bust as the underclothing.

Thin laces were used to tie each piece of clothing so it wouldn't come loose. Then the dressing assistant tied on a girdle (corset). It must be tied very hard, so it was hard to breathe after it was tied. The dressing assistant made such a beautiful ribbon using the ties at the end of the girdle. Don't you think it is amazing that I had never seen the same pattern on any other Kimono, shape of ribbon, or hair comb?

As you have already noticed, there are many parts to wearing a Kimono. I also had a bag (for the Kimono) and tabi, which are special socks. After I was dressed, I had my hair styled and my make-up applied. By the time everything was finished, it was around 7:30 a.m.

Twelve Hours in a Corset!

Then I went to the photo shop to have my picture taken. I was already tired by that time. However, I wore the outfit for almost 12 hours. I didn't take it off until after I visited my grandparents at their house to show it to them. That's why when I finally took it off, I felt tiredness at a burst.

A special part of the celebration is the ceremony known as Seijin shiki. It is held on the same day all over Japan. My hometown of Tanabe in the prefecture of Wakayama had our ceremony in an event hall next to City Hall. In my hometown, which is close to Osaka, 883 boys and girls reached man's estate (another name for the occasion), but only 686 actually attended in this year. Our town has a population of about 70,000.

In the ceremony, we listened to the mayor, a special guest, and an ambassador deliver their speeches. It finished in just a half hour.

Catching Up with Dear Friends.

After the speeches, our favorite part of the day arrived. Of course, the formal ceremony is important, but the really big event is to see our friends. Usually, we are studying or working different places away from home, so it's difficult to see and talk with old friends. Seijin no hi provides a very good chance to do catch-up with each other. I took tons of pictures with my friends!

I hadn't been home for two years, so I was happy to see my family on this special day. My sister attends high school. My father used to teach English, but now he is a vice-principal at the high school. My mom is a housewife, but helps on the family farm.

Coming of Age Day is an auspicious day for us. At the same time, we have to accept responsibility for our actions as an adult. That's why the day is so important. I was happy to attend the ceremony and very happy that I could see my friends after such a long time apart!

From left: Tomoko Kubo, Miyuke Ueda, Mai Tashima, and Maki Hashimoto, schoolmates in junior and senior high. The young women are flashing the peace sign. "It's very cool to do that in Japan just now," Mai said.