New Year's is the most important traditional holiday celebrated in Japan. In the pre-World War II Osaka of my childhood, where my parents ran a shop that sold baby clothes and bedding, old customs and ...

Oshogatsu, the Japanese New Year, is one of the most important festive events of the Japanese calendar symbolising traditions ...

People in a northeastern Japanese town were taught how to make traditional rice straw ropes called "shimenawa" in preparation ...

Workers at the Hiramatsu Seafoods Company factory in the city of Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, are busy making sweet simmered ...

This month, Asia Society Korea collaborated with the Japanese Embassy to introduce Osechi (お節), traditional Japanese New Year dishes. Mr. Kazuo Chujo, Director of Public Information and Cultural ...

With 700 million yen as the main cash prize, here’s a brief overview of another Japanese New Year’s tradition. Lotteries have long been a part of Japanese culture. Dating back to the 1600s, monks at ...

According to Japanese media, 90% of those rushed to hospital from choking on their new year's dish are people aged 65 or older. Chew, chew, chew. If that's not possible, the rice cakes need to be ...