Title:
Seijinshiki (Coming of Age Ceremony), Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan.
Caption:
The coming of age ceremony known as Seijinshiki is celebrated every
year on the second Sunday of January by all young people turning 20
years old that calendar year.
The ceremony was originally intended to give young people a sense of
rebirth into the society as responsible adults.
It was an occasion for women to wear furisode, the most formal kimonos.
This kimono was worn with a traditional hairstyle
and beautiful Kanzashi hair ornaments.
This coming of age ritual goes back to the seventh century when it was
known as genpuku for boys and mogi for girls. It barely changed until
the 1990s. Today, the ceremony is still celebrated, but young people
added a few twists to the tradition. Women spend hours and hundreds of
dollars to have their hair made and their kimonos fitted.
Color dyed perm hair and multicolored shiny nail polish, with a touch of
new age makeup contrast much with the furisode and traditional thongs.
The Seijinshiki look is changing rapidly, and is strongly influenced by
young pop stars.
The changes in the Seijinshiki ceremony represent the actual change of
society where traditional and modern culture mix, but the generations
don't.
