Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 19
Losers in the card game of karuta get ink painted on their face.
Kobe, 1906
Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 20
Merchants display their wares in a New Year cart procession, one of the few New Year customs in this series that can not be seen anymore.
Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 21
New Year resolutions clearly go back a ways. The children of this household start the new year with doing their chores, sewing, practicing music and practicing calligraphy.
Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 22
Firefighters in happi coats perform acrobatic stunts on top of bamboo ladders. The ladder stunts were the main event of Japanese New Year celebrations.
Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 23
When the New year celebrations are over on January 15th, the decorations are burned to ward off evil and disease.
Kobe, 1906
Setsubun
Setsubun is the day before the beginning of each season, but the term is generally used mainly for the spring Setsubun, celebrated at the start of February.