Month: November 2012
With the recent demand for one-dish eateries serving popular comfort food seeing no sign of diminishing, Japan Centre has decided it’s time to show the UK how Hakata ramen is done and opens SHORYU RAMEN on Saturday 24th November at 9 Regent Street.
Japan Centre has teamed up with 3A Entertainment to offer one lucky winner a pair of tickets to see Japanese rock guitar legend Tomoyasu Hotei (Kill Bill and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas soundtracks) in a special one-off show at the Roundhouse, Camden on Tuesday 18th December 2012, doors 7pm.
Remember, Remember… the 15th of November?
If you live in the UK we’re entering the time of year where you might recently have built a big bonfire and set fire to a man with a very pointy beard all in the name of gunpowder, treason and plot, or perhaps you’re all set to enjoy your fireworks with a big plate of laddu or peda. In Japan a very different kind of celebration is soon to take place.
On November 15th kids aged 3, 5 and 7 will be putting on their fanciest kimonos or hakamas and heading down to their local shrines for shichi-go-san. Celebrated in honour of girls aged 3 and 7 and boys aged 3 and 5 families pray for longevity and happiness for their children. Shichi-go-san literally means 7-5-3, easy to remember huh!
However, this festival has a trick up its sleeve! We told a little fib there… The kids you see heading out for shichi-go-san in Japan won’t actually be 7, 5 and 3 years old, they’ll be 6, 4 and 2! How come? In the past, it was traditional in Japan to ‘add’ a year to a person’s age to account for the time they spent growing before they were born. These days age is calculated the same way as it is in the West, however these alternate birthdays are still used for traditional ceremonies or fortune telling.
