Contents
Introduction
Showing appreciation to the people around at year-end and celebrating the new year is a universal theme all around the world, but every culture has a different way of doing it. We are discovering how the Japanese people finish off the passing year and welcome the new, and we discussed their habit of sending greeting cards – the culture of Nengajo (年賀状) – in our previous article.
Along with the greeting cards, the Japanese people usually share gifts during this time of the year, which are called Oseibo (お歳暮). 「お」is an honorific term that comes before a noun; whereas,「歳」stands for a year, and「暮」means an ending. So it simply means it is an honorable year-end, and accordingly, the gifts are sent to those whom you want to show appreciation and would like to request for a continuous relationship.
The History of Oseibo
Then when does this gift-sharing culture begin? It is widely known that Oseibo has its origin back in the Muromachi Period (室町時代). This was between the 14th to 16th centuries, and Oseibo was originally an offering to ancestors. Then people started to share the offerings between families and neighbors. During the Shogunate, the offerings were given to the samurais protecting the village. Then there was the Meiji Period, and Oseibo has gradually become what it is right now.
Common Oseibo Gifts
Then, what do the Japanese people normally give as Oseibo? MyVoice Communications Inc. surveyed Oseibo and found out that snacks, cookies, and ice cream were the most popular gifts as 25.6% of the surveyees answered them; following the snacks, processed meat was the second most popular with 24.3% of survey respondents, and beer was the third popular gift with 21.7% of respondents.
Overall, snacks and desserts are popularly shared as Oseibo. For those who have visited Japan’s department stores, it is not so hard to capture what these “snacks, desserts, ice cream” look like. They usually come with decorated boxes and wrappers. Look at some of the examples below:
Oseibo Is Not As Popular As Before
Though Oseibo is still popularly conducted in Japan, researchers have shown that not as many people are following this tradition as before. MyVoice Communications compared the number of Oseibos sent in 2010 and 2022, and the number of respondents who said “No Oseibo this year” increased by 54% (the response rate was 41.2% in 2010 whereas 63.4% in 2022).
Such a tendency may have been caused by various factors but the researchers are saying that the young generation thinks Oseibo is an expensive tradition to follow, and they tend to prefer giving gifts during the Christmas holidays then New Year. Buying gifts for both Christmas and Oseibo can be burdensome, and it seems Christmas is appealing to the young generation of Japan more than their tradition.
Outro
This article discussed briefly about Oseibo and how the Japanese people celebrate the year-end and New Year holidays. As a tradition coming down for about a thousand years, many Japanese people show their appreciation for the nearby people through Oseibo. Even though this tradition has died down compared to 10 years ago, it is a culture that deserves attention. Why don’t you try sharing Oseibo with people around you and make the start of the year more special with this Japanese style?
