Monday, December 31, 2012

(212) O-shogatsu


The omnipresence of Christmas decoration is misleading: in almost all stores you can also find everything needed for O-shogatsu (お正月), the New Year which is celebrated in purely Japanese fashion. Decorations of shimenawa (注連縄) rope, paper lightning-shaped shide (紙垂) stripes, pine and bamboo, shishi (獅子) Chinese lions, sanpo (三方) trays for offering fruit (and particularly tangerines), red, white and gold ribbons and the double rice-cake called kagami-mochi (鏡餅).

(For a bigger version of this picture both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr)

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