Special Autumn Days at Home and at School
Special Autumn Days at Home and at School
Autumn in Japan has traditionally been a season filled with more than colorful leaves and delicious seasonal foods.
Families gathered to admire the moon, enjoyed chrysanthemums and chestnuts, and celebrated the healthy growth of children. At school, children looked forward to special events such as sports festivals and field trips.
These traditions changed over time, but they also became part of many children’s memories of autumn.
In this article, let’s take a look at how children in Japan spent autumn at home and at school from the Meiji and Taisho eras through the Showa era.
Enjoying Autumn at Home
Tsukimi — A Night to Admire the Moon
On autumn evenings, families would gather to admire the moon.
The tradition of appreciating the autumn moon dates back many centuries. During the night of the full moon, known as the Fifteenth Night, families traditionally offered rice cakes and susuki grass as seasonal decorations.
For children, it may have been a special night that felt a little different from an ordinary evening.
Some children may have been more interested in the white rice cakes than in the moon itself.
The moon? Maybe. The rice cakes? Definitely.
There must have been children who felt that way!
Choyo — Chrysanthemums and Chestnuts for an Autumn Festival
Choyo, celebrated on September 9, is a traditional festival associated with chrysanthemums and wishes for long life.
Today, it is not as familiar as some of Japan’s other seasonal festivals, but it was once one of the five traditional seasonal festivals.
People decorated their homes with chrysanthemums and enjoyed chrysanthemum sake, bringing the flowers of autumn into their daily lives.
There was also a tradition of eating chestnuts around Choyo, and dishes such as chestnut rice were enjoyed in some regions and households.
For adults, Choyo was a festival associated with wishes for longevity.
For children, however, the chestnut rice may have been more exciting than the chrysanthemums.
Shichi-Go-San — Celebrating Children’s Growth
Autumn also brought celebrations for children.
Shichi-Go-San is a traditional celebration of children’s growth. Children aged three, five, and seven traditionally visit a shrine around November 15 with their families.
Dressed in their finest clothes and carrying long sticks of colorful chitose-ame candy, children visiting shrines are still a familiar sight in Japan today.
But how did families celebrate Shichi-Go-San during the Meiji and Taisho eras and into the Showa era?
What did children wear, and what kind of day did they spend with their families?
I will explore these questions in more detail using historical photographs and other sources in a future article.
Enjoying Autumn at School
Sports Festivals — Running, Cheering, and Eating Lunch Together
Modern school sports festivals began to develop within Japan’s school education system during the Meiji era.
Over time, sports festivals became major school events. By the Showa era, some were also community events in which local residents took part.
The excitement was not limited to the competitions.
Family picnics and lunch boxes, as well as the crowds cheering for the children, were also an important part of the atmosphere.
For children, it was a chance to run, compete, cheer for their friends, and enjoy a day that felt very different from an ordinary day at school.
School Field Trips — A Special Day Away from the Classroom
Autumn was also a season for school field trips.
Leaving their usual classrooms behind and going somewhere with their teachers and friends, children looked forward to these outings as one of the special events of the school year.
They walked together, enjoyed the scenery, and ate lunch with their friends.
It was a day that felt a little different from ordinary schoolwork.
Where did children go on field trips during the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras?
What did they bring, and what was a typical field trip like?
I hope to explore these questions in more detail by looking at historical sources.
Memories of Autumn from Childhood
Tsukimi, Choyo, Shichi-Go-San, sports festivals, and school field trips were all very different kinds of events.
Yet they shared something important: they created moments when ordinary life became “a special day.”
A night spent admiring the moon with family.
A day enjoying chrysanthemums and chestnuts.
A family celebration of a child’s growth.
A sports festival where the school and local community came together.
A field trip spent exploring somewhere new with friends.
Children may have looked forward to sweet rice cakes or chestnut rice, gathered around the family table, or become completely absorbed in competing with their friends.
Through these experiences, they felt the changing seasons while spending time with family, friends, teachers, and people in their communities.
Perhaps these small special days helped shape what autumn meant to generations of Japanese children.
Some of these traditions have changed over time, while others have become less common.
Even so, there may be something timeless about the feeling of looking forward to a family moon-viewing night, a school sports festival, or a field trip with friends.
In future articles, I will continue exploring seasonal traditions and everyday childhood life in Japan’s past.
