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
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.
1900s
Ainu Fishermen
Four Ainu fishermen stand in log boats, two of them holding spears as if ready to catch fish. Fish was, together with venison and other game, a very important part of the Ainu diet.
Osaka 1920s
Kitahama, Nakanoshima
This postcard from the 1920s shows Osaka’s Kitahama and Nakanoshima, an island sandwiched between the Dojima and Tosabori Rivers. Nakanoshima has already been thoroughly modernized.