Updated November 12, 2024

Otoshidama and Kakizome are two more of those first-of-the-year events that are very important in Japanese culture!  

Otoshidama

A New Year’s gift for the children.

Pochibukuro is the Japanese word for the rectangular envelopes used for otoshidama. These envelopes open at the short end instead of the long end! The pochibukuro are filled with cash. Otoshidama is the tradition of gifting these envelopes to children on New Year’s in Japan, as a way of showing appreciation to them and giving them hope for the New Year!

The envelopes are usually decorated with cute drawings or calligraphy, to add to the excitement and festivity of the day. Many otoshidama have quite a large sum of money in them, sometimes totaling to hundreds of dollars given to each child! The average reported amount for otoshidama is 5,000 yen (an amount equaling about 50 yen USD). Older children traditionally receive a larger sum than younger children. People usually stop gifting otoshidama to children when they turn 20, as that is the legal adult age in Japan.

Usually grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, and other guardian figures are the ones to gift otoshidama to children. On average, each child receives 5-6 envelopes from different people! Oftentimes the amount included in the envelope is written on the inside of the opening flap. There is sometimes the concern that very young children will spend all this money on trivial items such as candy or trading cards, but often the parents of younger children will take half the money to put in the child’s savings. A large part of otoshidama is also to teach children about savings, so it’s often important for children to not spend their entire otoshidama at once.

History

During New Year’s, another tradition is to offer kagami mochi – rice cakes – to the New Year’s deity on New Year’s Eve. This deity is called toshigami-sama, and thus the rice cakes were once called toshidama. Before the otoshidama tradition began, parents would feed their children the toshidama on New Year’s, after the offering ceremony was concluded. Over time, parents began to give small gifts to their children instead of toshidama. Now, money is offered in envelopes to children. However, the name of toshidama still remains. (The o part of o-toshidama is just the honorific/polite form for the word toshidama.)

Kakizome

Kakizome is the Japanese term of the first calligraphy of the year. This event most frequently occurs on January 2nd. It is also sometimes referred to as kissho, shihitsu, or hatsusuzuri!

The most famous kakizome event is on January 5th, when thousands of talented calligraphers meet at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. The calligraphy written at this event is usually burned at the Sagicho festival on January 14th. It is thought that if the burning paper flies high up in the sky, that person will be bestowed with the gift of writing in an even better hand the next year.

What do kakizome and otoshidama have in common? They are both learning opportunities for Japanese youth. Just as otoshidama is meant to teach children about savings, Kakizome can be the perfect opportunity for the younger population of Japan to begin practicing and learning how to properly write Japanese calligraphy.

Japanese calligraphy is an incredibly important tradition in Japan, and the most masterful can even turn it into a career. Many Japanese high school students are assigned kakizome as their winter break homework – they are often given specific kanji characters to write out on the New Year.

Kakizome is usually performed using ink rubbed in the first water drawn from the nearest well on New Year’s. People typically used to write out Chinese poetry with the calligraphy brush, often poetry that contains positive imagery and diction, such as that about long life, youth, success, or happiness. However in recent years, people have simply begun to choose specific but meaningful kanji characters to write out, instead of writing out entire poems. The calligraphy is seldom kept, as it is usually burned afterwards.

Care to try the traditions of otoshidama or kakizome? New Year’s is a great (and popular) time to visit Japan, so be sure to book your trip today!