Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T09:17:00.794Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Celebration of seasonally based holidays and festivals in Japan: a study in cultural adaptation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2011

Steven L. Renshaw
Steven L. Renshaw*
Affiliation:
Kanda University of International Studies, 1-4-1 Wakaba, Mihama Ku, 261-0014 Chiba, Japan email: stever@gol.com
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The way in which Japan adopted methods and practices related to celebrations of seasonally based holidays and festivals provides an interesting study in how one culture may incorporate and modify the astronomically related practices of another. This article explores this process by looking at: (1) astronomical bases of seasonal celebration in Japan, (2) Japanese values and adaptations of imported icons and practices, (3) changes in celebratory practice due to adoption of ‘Western’ methods, and (4) observation in modern Japan.

Keywords

Japanseasonslunar calendarfestivalsseasonal celebrations
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 7 , Symposium S278: “Oxford IX” International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy , January 2011 , pp. 308 - 314
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

References

Brown, D. M. 1993a, The Yamato kingdom. In Brown, D.M. (ed.), The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 1, Ancient Japan, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 108–162.Google Scholar
Brown, D. M. 1993b, The early evolution of historical consciousness. In Brown, D.M. (ed.), The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 1, Ancient Japan, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 504–577.Google Scholar
Campbell, A. & Noble, D. S. 1993, Japan: an Illustrated Encyclopedia, Kodansha, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Chen, C-Y. 1996, Early Chinese Work in Natural Science: a Re-examination of the Physics of Motion, Acoustics, Astronomy and Scientific Thoughts, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Cullen, C. 1996, Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China: the Zhou bi Suan Jing, Cambridge University Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hara, M. 1975, Seiza no Shinwa (Mythology of the Constellations), Kouseisha Co. Ltd, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Kidder, J. E. 1993, The earliest societies in Japan. In Brown, D.M. (ed.), The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 1, Ancient Japan, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 48–107.Google Scholar
Krupp, E. C. 1991, Beyond the Blue Horizon: Myths and Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Planets, Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Major, J. S. 1993, Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought: Chapters Three, Four, and Five of the Huainanzi, State University of New York Press, Albany.Google Scholar
Nakayama, S., 1969, A History of Japanese Astronomy: Chinese Background and Western Impact, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA.Google Scholar
Nojiri, H. 1973, Seimei Jiten (Dictionary of Star Names in Japan), Tokyo Do Shuppan, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Nojiri, H. 1988, Hoshi no Shinwa Densetsu Shusei (Collection of Mythology and Star Legends), Koseisha Koseikaku, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Okada, Y. & Akune, S. 1993, Gendai Koyomi Yomikaki Jiten (Modern Calendar Dictionary), Kashiwa Shoubou, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Ooms, H. 2009, Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.Google Scholar
Otake, T. 2010, Moves afoot to make Japanese holidays a pleasure not a pain. Japan Times, Tokyo, 2010 March 21.Google Scholar
Renshaw, S. & Ihara, S. 2000, A cultural history of astronomy in Japan. In Selin, H. (ed.), Astronomy across Cultures: the History of Non-western Astronomy, Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 385–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugimoto, M. & Swain, D. L. 1989, Science and Culture in Traditional Japan, Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Sukehiro, H. 1993, Japan's turn to the West. In Jansen, M.B. (ed.), The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 5, The Nineteenth Century, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 432–498.Google Scholar
Sun, X. & Kistemaker, J. 1997, The Chinese Sky during the Han: Constellating Stars and Society, Brill, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watanabe, T. 1987, Kinsei Nihon Tenmon Gakushi (A View of Japanese History of Astronomy in Early Modern Times) (2 vols), Koseisha Kosaikaku, Tokyo.Google Scholar