Culture Day
Encyclopedia
is a national holiday
held annually in Japan
on November 3 for the purpose of promoting culture
, the arts
, and academic endeavour. Festivities typically include art exhibition
s, parade
s, and award ceremonies for distinguished artist
s and scholars.
on November 3, 1946.
November 3 was first celebrated as a national holiday in 1868, when it was called , a holiday held in honor of the birthday of the reigning emperor—at that time, the Meiji Emperor. (See also The Emperor's Birthday
.) With the death of the Meiji Emperor in 1912, November 3 ceased to be a holiday until 1927, when his birthday was given its own specific holiday, known as . As Meiji-setsu was discontinued with the announcement of Culture Day in 1948, some see Culture Day as a continuation of this tradition as well—a mere renaming of Meiji-setsu—although they are ostensibly unrelated.
governments typically choose this day to hold art exhibits, culture festivals, and parades. For example, Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture
holds the annual to exhibit Edo Period
clothing and costumes. It is common for universities to present new research and projects on Culture Day. Primary and secondary schools often have a "culture festival
" on or near this day.
Since 1937, the award ceremony for the prestigious Order of Culture
has been held on this day. Given by the Emperor himself to those who have significantly advanced science, the arts or culture, it is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Imperial Family. The prize is not restricted to Japanese citizens, and for instance was awarded to the Apollo 11
astronauts upon their successful return from the moon, as well as literary scholar Donald Keene
.
Culture Day is statistically
one of the clearest days of the year. Between 1965 and 1996, there have only been three years with rain occurring in Tokyo
on Culture Day.
Public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year....
held annually in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on November 3 for the purpose of promoting culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, the arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, and academic endeavour. Festivities typically include art exhibition
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
s, parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
s, and award ceremonies for distinguished artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s and scholars.
History
Culture Day was first held in 1948, to commemorate the announcement of the post-war Japanese constitutionConstitution of Japan
The is the fundamental law of Japan. It was enacted on 3 May, 1947 as a new constitution for postwar Japan.-Outline:The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights...
on November 3, 1946.
November 3 was first celebrated as a national holiday in 1868, when it was called , a holiday held in honor of the birthday of the reigning emperor—at that time, the Meiji Emperor. (See also The Emperor's Birthday
The Emperor's Birthday
is a national holiday in the Japanese calendar. It is currently celebrated on 23 December. The date is determined by the present Emperor's birthdate. Emperor Akihito was born on this date in 1933....
.) With the death of the Meiji Emperor in 1912, November 3 ceased to be a holiday until 1927, when his birthday was given its own specific holiday, known as . As Meiji-setsu was discontinued with the announcement of Culture Day in 1948, some see Culture Day as a continuation of this tradition as well—a mere renaming of Meiji-setsu—although they are ostensibly unrelated.
Current practice
As Culture Day exists to promote the arts and various fields of academic endeavor, local and prefecturalPrefectures of Japan
The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 subnational jurisdictions: one "metropolis" , Tokyo; one "circuit" , Hokkaidō; two urban prefectures , Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures . In Japanese, they are commonly referred to as...
governments typically choose this day to hold art exhibits, culture festivals, and parades. For example, Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
holds the annual to exhibit Edo Period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
clothing and costumes. It is common for universities to present new research and projects on Culture Day. Primary and secondary schools often have a "culture festival
Japanese Cultural Festival
The is an annual event held by most schools in Japan, from Nursery schools to universities at which their students display their everyday achievements. People who want to enter the school themselves or who are interested in the school may come to see what the schoolwork and atmosphere are like...
" on or near this day.
Since 1937, the award ceremony for the prestigious Order of Culture
Order of Culture
The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature or culture; recipients of the order also receive an annuity for life...
has been held on this day. Given by the Emperor himself to those who have significantly advanced science, the arts or culture, it is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Imperial Family. The prize is not restricted to Japanese citizens, and for instance was awarded to the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
astronauts upon their successful return from the moon, as well as literary scholar Donald Keene
Donald Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene is a Japanologist, scholar, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture. Keene was University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years...
.
Culture Day is statistically
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
one of the clearest days of the year. Between 1965 and 1996, there have only been three years with rain occurring in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
on Culture Day.