How is Coming of Age Day celebrated in Japan?

Japan's national holiday is Coming of Age Day, celebrated in Tokyo. It is traditionally celebrated on the second Monday of January. On this day, they are invited to the district and municipal offices, where the heads of administrations give them instructions on "how to behave in adulthood."

The age of majority in Japan is reached at the age of 20, from that moment on, local residents have the right to vote, purchase and consume alcoholic beverages, conduct real estate transactions and much more that was not allowed before.

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1) In Japan, the age of majority is celebrated for a person who turned 20 in the past year. (AP)

2) Until the middle of the 19th century, Japanese boys and girls became adults at different times. (AP)

3) For the first time, girls, with the help of their elders, put on an adult cut kimono, blackened their teeth, and shaved off their eyebrows. (AP)

4) For boys, they shaved off the curls above the forehead and braided a pigtail (eboshi, the hairstyle of an adult man). At the same time, he changed his childhood name to an adult one. (AP)

5) This ceremony was called mogi. Upon completion, boys and girls were considered adults and could marry. (AP)

6) Since 1876, the age of majority by the Japanese government has been set at 20 years, but the official holiday was established only in 1948, and until 2000 it was celebrated on January 15th. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

7) Since 2000, it has been moved to the second Monday of January, thus giving three days off in a row. (AP)

8) On this day, the heads of local administrations hold seijin shiki - an official ceremony for newly minted adults. On it, young men and women are congratulated by politicians and local celebrities who give parting speeches, remind them of civic duty, new rights and obligations, and give gifts. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

9) Traditionally, 20-year-old celebrants visit a temple where they pray to the gods and make wishes. At the Meiji Shrine, momote shiki, an archery ritual, is held in their honor by two priests dressed in white. They fire two blunt arrows that whistle in flight. After them, brightly dressed archers fire arrows. (AP)

10) After all the ceremonies, rituals and lectures for students, the celebration ends in bars, restaurants or karaoke. (AP)

11) And this year, some Tokyo girls decided to celebrate coming of age at Disneyland. (AP)

12) Japanese women celebrating their adulthood wear expensive winter kimonos of a special cut with long sleeves - furisode. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

13) Other components of the costume are a fur cape, an obi belt that is tied with a special knot, traditional zori slippers and a small bag that contains perfume and cosmetics. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

14) The cost of such an outfit is comparable to buying a new car, so preparations for the holiday begin several years in advance, or rent a kimono. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

15) Young men on this day dress in a European costume, or in a traditional men's kimono and a haori jacket. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

16) Since at present in Japan European clothing has practically replaced the traditional ones from daily use, the purchased kimono is then hardly used. In many families, it is inherited. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

17) Even 20-30 years ago, this ritual caused a sharp rejection among young people, among whom at that time left-wing ideas were very popular, and everything that came from the government was, without exception, perceived as "reactionary". (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

18) According to the memoirs of contemporaries, at that time young people who decided to come to the holiday in the municipal departments were subjected to ridicule and ostracism. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

19) In the cities, the number of participants in official ceremonies was extremely small, but in rural areas, traditions (and discipline) were stronger. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

20) Today, the majority of the population of Japan is quite apolitical and free from any kind of ideology, and this holiday has turned into an additional day off for the vast majority. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

21) Perhaps, the young girls who have reached the age of 20 are directly interested in the coming-of-age celebration. For them, this is an occasion to show off, walking with their girlfriends to the district council and back in a beautiful traditional dress. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

22) Since the festival is held in mid-January, when it is rather cool in Tokyo, in the past few years it has become especially fashionable for girls to wear luxurious fur coats on their shoulders over kimonos. (AFP PHOTO/Yoshikazu TSUNO)