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Saturday, October 10 (archive)

Today in Japan

Watercolor of a public bathhouse, running shoes and a relay torch, a bath bucket and towel, glasses on a closed book, tuna sashimi and fragrant olive

What day is it?

  1. 1964年Opening of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics東京オリンピック開会式（1964年）

    On October 10th, 1964, the Tokyo Olympics opened. It was the first Olympics held in Asia. Two years later, Japan made this date a national holiday, now called Sports Day. In 2000, it moved to the second Monday of October to make a three-day weekend, so this year it falls on October 12th.

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  2. 1991年制定Sento Day銭湯の日

    Read 1010 as sen-to, and you get sento, a neighborhood public bath. A bathhouse association in Tokyo is said to have chosen this date in 1991. It's also the day the 1964 Olympics opened, and the idea was that a hot bath feels best after sweating from sports. Some bathhouses hold events around this day.

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  3. 1931年制定Eye Care Day目の愛護デー

    Turn 10 10 on its side, and it looks like a pair of eyebrows and eyes. That's why October 10th became a day to think about eye health. It started in 1931 under a different name, Sight Preservation Day, and after the war the Ministry of Health and Welfare gave it today's name. It's a good day to look up from your phone for a minute.

  4. 1986年制定Tuna Dayまぐろの日

    A national group of tuna and bonito fishing cooperatives made this Tuna Day in 1986. The date comes from history: on October 10th in the year 726, the poet Yamabe no Akahito is said to have written a poem praising a place rich in tuna. The poem was collected in the Man'yoshu, Japan's oldest poetry anthology.

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If someone asks you

Q

Why does Japan have a national holiday just for sports?

A

It started as a way to remember the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which opened on October 10th. It was the first Olympics in Asia, and it meant a lot to Japan at the time. The holiday used to be on October 10th, but now it's always a Monday, so people get a long weekend. Many schools and towns hold sports days around this time, too.

In season Fragrant olive 金木犀 In early October, a sweet smell like apricots fills the streets. It comes from kinmokusei, or fragrant olive, a tree with tiny orange flowers. For many Japanese people, this smell is the sign that autumn has really arrived. The blossoms last only about a week, and after a heavy rain, they cover the ground like an orange carpet.
Micro-season 49 of 72 鴻雁来こうがんきたる Wild Geese Return Wild geese arrive from the north to spend the winter. Their V-shaped formations against an autumn sky are a standard subject in Japanese painting.

Phrase of the day

Is there a public bath around here?

Sentence of the day

October 10th is the day the 1964 Tokyo Olympics opened, and it's also Sento Day and Eye Care Day in Japan. Move your body, take a hot bath, and rest your eyes.

Related topics

Sources

Earlier days