There Is A Traditional Second Birth Celebration At 60 Years Old In Japan

I introduced some photos about celebration items and costumes in my previous post on September 21st. In Japanese culture actually there are many more traditional celebration events for lifetime. I'll show the summary list below.

7 days after a baby birth: A celebration for official announcement of the baby's name.
Around 1 month after a baby birth: A celebration to take the baby to a shrine/temple for the first time.
100 days after a baby birth: Having a celebration party to wish the baby will have abundant food for his/her lifetime.
3 years old (for girls): A celebration called "Shichi-go-san" to with the children's healthy growth.
5 years old (for boys):A celebration called "Shichi-go-san" to with the children's healthy growth.
7 years old (for girls):A celebration called "Shichi-go-san" to with the children's healthy growth.
60 years old:A celebration called "Kanreki".
70 years old:A celebration for a longevity called "Koki".
77 years old:A celebration for a longevity called "Kiju".
80 years old:A celebration for a longevity called "Sanju".
88 years old:A celebration for a longevity called "Beiju"
90 years old:A celebration for a longevity called "Sotsyju".
99 years old:A celebration for a longevity called "Hakuju"
100 years old:A celebration for a longevity called "Hyakuju".

As you can see, after 60 years old there are many events to celebrate longevity. However, it is no wonder because reaching these ages would have been really impressive in old days. Then 60 years old is the turning point for the frequent celebrations.

Actually, 60 years old is a special age in Asian culture which is considered as the period of starting over. There are two old cyclical systems to count years called "Jikkan" and "Junishi". These were invented in China and have spread in Asian countries including Japan.

The "Junishi" cycle system is often translated "The 12 animal zodiac signs" in English and using twelve different animals to count 12 years as one cycle. It's still very common and everybody know own animal of their birth year in Japan. On the other hand, "Jikkan" is not well-known anymore, but it is also a cycle system of years. This one is using 5 basic elements such as fire, water, soil, wood, and gold.

In old days, people counted years combining these two cycles as in "Year of wood mice", "Year of fire ox" and so on. Then, at 60 years old people will have the original combination of these two cycles when they were born. Thus 60 years old became the age people finished one big cycle and start over the next cycle, just like the second birth of the life. It would be a good timing to have celebration. 

Traditionally, people celebrate "Kanreki (60-year-old celebration)" wearing a red traditional type of vest and a special red cap as you can see in the upper middle illustration. Regarding the color, red is a special color in Japanese culture as I introduced on the September 21st and that's why most costumes for celebrations in the photos above are including red color. About the style, This kind of vest had been a common outer wear in old time and the special style cap is just like the cap which one of the Japanese gods of good fortune, "Daikoku-ten", is wearing as you can see in the upper left hand side photo.

However, the typical "Kanreki (60-year-old celebration)" style seems like kind of outdated. In fact many people are not interested in wearing it nowadays since both of the items are not very fancy nor practical. Apparently, when people turn 60, most of them now choose other red items such as red T-shirts, red sweater, or red cardigan to celebrate the event. It would be a good change for this traditional custom.

How about wearing a nice red clothes and having a celebration when you turn 60 years old?