Coming of Age Day is a public holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday of January under the Happy Monday System. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have already reached the age of maturity between April 2 of the previous year and April 1 of the current year, and to help them realise that they have become adults. Festivities include coming of age ceremonies held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties among family and friends.
Young women celebrating Coming of Age Day at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, 2008
A late 18th-century parody of the genpuku (coming-of-age ceremony) of a minister, with most of the celebrants represented by courtesans
A politician and court noble during the Heian period seen wearing traditional court cap and garb
A young woman models a jūnihitoe, a 12-layered formal court dress worn by women during the Heian period, during a demonstration of traditional Japanese culture
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual or spiritual event.
Jugendweihe (East Germany)
Guan Li / Ji Li (China)
Coming of Age Day (Japan)
Bar Mitzvah (Judaism)
