2002-01-17 - 10:28 p.m.
Monday was Coming of Age Day, a national holiday celebrated by everyone who turned twenty in the past year. Young women trotted around in kimonos and white fur mufflers, hair coifed a la senior prom. I saw a line of them chatting to each other and e-mailing on their cell phones outside of a photo studio, awaiting having thierComing of Age Day portraits taken. All over Japan, cities held ceremonies for the new twenty-somethings to mark this passage. According to the bilingual news (which explains many a mysterious Japanese phenomenon in perfect English), last year's Coming of Age Day ceremonies were disrupted in several cities by no-good hooligans who made a mockery of the event by exhibiting general rowdiness, setting off firecrackers during the mayor's speech, etc. In an effort to avoid such misbehavior, this year many cities changed their traditional ceremonies by involving young people in the planning of the events. One city even held its Coming of Age ceremony at Tokyo Disneyland, where the mayor's three minute speech was flanked on either side by musical numbers starring Mickey Mouse. While those lucky enough to celebrate turning 20 at Tokyo Disneyland seemed enthusiastic about the holiday, their peers in one Japanese city were up to their old tricks -- throwing a paper plate full of mayonnaise into a city official’s face.
This week the entire eighth grade and several teachers have been on the annual school ski trip. Today I asked one of the English teachers when everyone would be returning. “Oh, they got back yesterday,” he said. But then why was the entire eighth grade absent from school TODAY? “Oh, well since Monday was a holiday, but they were on the ski trip, the students and teachers have a holiday today to make up for it.” Can’t beat that logic.
