Japan Culture Navi 日本語

Tuesday, November 3 (archive)

Today in Japan

Culture Day watercolor of a movie monster figurine and film reel, a wordless manga sketchbook and drawing tools, an autumn landscape painting, and lotus root

What day is it?

  1. 1948年の祝日法で制定Culture Day文化の日

    November 3rd is Culture Day, a national holiday. The law describes it as a day to love freedom and peace and to promote culture. Around this time, many schools and universities hold their culture festivals, and towns put on art shows and autumn events. For most people, though, it's simply a day off in the middle of fall.

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  2. 1954年公開Godzilla Dayゴジラの日

    The first Godzilla movie came out in Japan on November 3rd, 1954, and about 9.6 million people went to see it. The name is said to combine gorira, or gorilla, and kujira, or whale. The film's studio later made this date Godzilla Day. Godzilla went on to star in dozens of movies in Japan and Hollywood.

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  3. 2002年制定Manga Dayまんがの日

    Manga Day was set in 2002 by the Japan Cartoonists Association and five major publishers. They reportedly chose Culture Day because they wanted manga to be seen as part of Japan's culture, not just entertainment. It's also the birthday of Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy, who was born on November 3rd, 1928.

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If someone asks you

Q

What do people actually do on Culture Day?

A

Honestly, most people just enjoy a day off. But early November is the season for school culture festivals, so a lot of families go to see their kids' class shows or club exhibits. Some museums and gardens hold special events, and many towns have autumn festivals around this time. It's often a clear, pleasant day, so it's a popular day to go out and see the fall leaves.

In season Lotus root れんこん Renkon, or lotus root, is in season from fall into winter. When you slice it, you see a ring of holes, so people say it lets you "see through to the future." That's why it often appears in osechi, the special New Year food. It's crunchy when stir-fried and soft and sticky when simmered.
Micro-season 54 of 72 楓蔦黄もみじつたきばむ Maples and Ivy Turn Yellow Maples and ivy turn color. Japanese has a word just for going to look at autumn leaves, momijigari, literally "maple hunting."

Phrase of the day

It's a national holiday, so most offices and schools are closed today.

Sentence of the day

November 3rd is Culture Day, a national holiday, and also the day the first Godzilla movie came out in 1954. It's a good day to talk about how manga, anime and monster movies became part of Japanese culture.

Related topics

Sources

Earlier days