tsukimi
"Tsukimi or jãgoya,
a moon-viewing night in mid-autumn, might not be so
familiar as o-shÇgatsu
and o-bon to people from overseas. But it provides
an indispensable flavor for Japan's nostalgic autumn,
blessed with gorgeous natural beauty. Picturesque
mountains embroidered with striking yellow and deep red
colored trees, comfortable songs of autumn insects, local
galas celebrating the rice harvest-with such seasonal
features, tsukimi is traditionally cherished among
the Japanese.
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- Mr. Masao Kanaoka
- City: Hirakata
- Prefecture: Æsaka
- Sept. 16, 1960
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"In tsukimi season, with the moon being full and
at its visual best, people used to put out dumplings, vegetables,
and pampas grass as offerings to the moon. Currently, such a
formal style has been disappearing due to people's hectic life
and small residences.
"In my family's case, we used to observe tsukimi
in a simple way by just putting some pampas grass in a vase. My
mother used to say, 'Masao, go outside and pick some pampas grass
please.' After school, I would go to the nearby field with my
brother and friends to look for the slender plant. While running
around to spot the plant as night approached, we sometimes
stopped in the darkening field, compelled to look up at the
beautiful full moon, amid emotional melodies by crickets.
"Although still young at that time, I believe we already
had the sense and emotion to appreciate nature's beauty, and this
attitude must have been nurtured through our involvement in
various Japanese traditions mostly linked with nature.
Traditionally, Japanese people have regarded nature as something
alive and sacred. They therefore try to attain oneness with it.
"I am convinced of this national peculiarity by the
following episode. An American working for a Japanese firm joined
a company banquet in late October. All in all, it was very noisy
with people chatting, drinking and singing. But suddenly the
Japanese staff became silent, looking in the same direction
through the opened window. The bewildered American also looked in
the same direction to see what had happened there-but nothing
appeared except the beautiful moon. 'Through the night, I have
learned what tsukimi means to people in this country,' he
said with a smile."
