Hello Senpai readers!

Have you ever wondered how the holidays portrayed in anime hold up against holidays in real Japan?  If anyone in Japan really celebrates Christmas? Or just what the deal is with White Day?

Well, we here at Senpai Magazine are happy to answer these questions and more- for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s and yes- White Day.

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First off, it should be noted that we are mostly focusing on holidays that Japan and the USA share.  Japan has numerous cultural holidays and national holidays that share little to nothing in common with ours. None of the holidays discussed in this article, for example, are official nationally observed holidays in Japan except for New Year.

In this 4th part of a 5 part series, we’re  casting a glance on that enigmatic March holiday, White Day. (If you would like to catch up with part one: Christmas in Japan, please click here, part two: New Year’s in Japan then please click here, or part three: Valentine’s Day then please click here.)

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White was chosen for purity, or pure love. And also because the first guy to think of it worked at a marshmallow company.

White Day, celebrated a month after Valentine’s Day on March 14^th, is when all the fellows who got giri or honmei chocolate from a lady on Valentine’s Day can return the favor. (It can also be called “answer day”  or “return day” for that reason.)  There are some men who go so far as to include a gift with the chocolate, or in replacement of the chocolate.

These other “answering” gifts can run the gamut from cute stuffed animals to jewelry or flowers to lingerie- yes, lingerie, sometimes even from co-workers.

(Usually in that case this would be a gift that several ladies would get from the same person, and it’s not meant to carry any sexual meaning, but merely provide something thoughtful and useful that the lady would use anyway. This doesn’t mean, however, that everyone given a gift like that will be happy about it, and in some cases it could be deemed inappropriate instead of thoughtful.)

I definitely wouldn't try that lingerie-to-a-coworker-thing in the US.

A word on the origins of White Day- have you ever heard someone say that they (mistakenly) believe a holiday was just “created by the card or candy company”?  In the case of White Day, it’s actually true.

Yes, seriously. This conspiracy is real.

The holiday was created in Japan (much the same way Valentine’s Day was) by candy marketers.

It began in 1977 when a marshmallow manufacturer was trying to find a new way to market their products, and hit upon the idea that they were white, the same color often used to symbolize purity and (by extension) pure love.

The confection that spawned a cultural phenomenon.

The idea didn’t really catch on until the next year, when Japan’s National Confectionery Industry Association got together and decided to create the holiday through their combined marketing power.

At first, only white colored gifts were given (like white teddy bears, chocolate, cookies, or lingerie such as the slips ladies wear under a dress).

Like most cultural phenomenon, however, White Day is an evolving holiday and some of its traditions change, such as the colors or types of gifts that are supposed to be given.

As for how “well” men should return the affection or politeness they were shown on Valentine’s Day, there is some debate.

Thr-THREE TIMES as much?!

One often hears that the return gift should be worth three times as much as what was received, but like most White Day practices this might be true or not because of changing traditions, or might be true for only some of the population.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the worth and thought put into this gift is also dependent on the sort of gift that was given to the man on Valentine’s Day.

He might look less upset about having to provide a return-gift for this giant chocolate heart if he liked the girl who gave it. Just saying.

A man who got giri (“obligation” chocolate, given by the lady to be polite or friendly, but not romantic) will return a different sort of gift than a man who received honmei (chocolate that is given to a romantic partner.)*

Popular gift examples in the different ranges include things like fancy handkerchiefs (very nice ones that ladies like to collect) and bringing the lady out to a really nice dinner.  Some others are cookies, chocolate, or (like many holidays) something sweet and personal, especially if the gift is for a loved one, not just an obligatory return gift given to be polite.

A  good anime example of White Day in Japan is seen in the show Fruits Basket.

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Fruits Basket (Furuba):

Tohru with her two best female friends, Saki and Arisa

The Valentine’s and White Day episodes of Fruits Basket bring up some noteworthy things.

In the Valentine’s Day episode of Fruits Basket, Tohru gave chocolate to “all the people who take care of me.”

She included her female friends Hanajima and Arisa (which would probably count as tomoor “friend” chocolate) as well as all the Sohma family members she is friendly with including Momiji. Later, they discover that in order to afford the supplies, she spent the money she should have used for her class trip.

Basically, this.

Momiji was deeply touched, and decided that the best way to return her kindness is to take her and the others on an all-expenses paid trip to a hot spring that the Sohma family owns.

(If the “worth three times as much” rule is a real phenomenon, I think it’s safe to say Momiji just blew it out of the water by about 1,000 times.)

Aww

Tohru and the boys have a wonderful time, and later during their visit there, she is given a more reasonable White Day gift.

Yuki and she are alone for a moment, and he thoughtfully gives her a set of golden hair ribbons.

Meanwhile, back home we see Shigure admiring a dress that looks remarkably maid-like; he claims happily that it is his White Day return-gift to Tohru.  Another Sohma, Hatsuharu, sits idly nearby and says in a placid tone “Just don’t take things so far you get arrested.”

Shigure's idea of a great gift

Before anyone gets too creeped out by that little exchange, view it within the context of White Day traditions- remember the possibility that a co-worker might decide to gift you and your other co-workers with lingerie?

By comparison, Shigure’s gift is bizarre, but still not as weird as it could be. (Especially because we know Shigure well enough to tell he doesn’t mean anything genuinely creepy by it.) It’s a good way to joke about how weird the older Sohma is and also give a nod to the stranger possible White Day gifts.

Yuki's idea of a gift

Out of all the things Tohru receives, however, Yuki’s gift is the most realistic for how the holiday is actually celebrated in Japan.

The gold hair ribbons are simple but pretty, and show that thought was put into the gift.  Most people, after all, cannot afford to bring a girl to a resort weekend just to celebrate White Day!

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Other White Day Episodes:
If you wanted to check out other anime that cover this interesting holiday, Hayate no Gotoku !! (Hayate the Combat Butler) Season 2-episode 18 and Shugo Chara! episode 74 both deal with White Day.

*For those of you who’d like to know more about some of the different sorts of Valentine’s chocolate given, check here;
for one lady’s account of what Valentine’s/White Day in Japan is like for her (and the sorts of gifts that are given) check here;
for some “do’s and don’ts” about gift-giving from a Japanese department store who polled some ladies check here.

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However you celebrate, all your friends here at Senpai Magazine share a fond wish for you – we hope you’ve had a very happy holiday season, from white Christmas to windy White Day! Remember to tune in next time for our surprise final installment of this holidays series.

Hello Senpai readers!

Have you ever wondered how the holidays portrayed in anime hold up against holidays in real Japan?  If anyone in Japan really celebrates Christmas? Or just what the deal is with White Day?

Well, we here at Senpai Magazine are happy to answer these questions and more- for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s and yes- White Day.

~~~

First off, it should be noted that we are mostly focusing on holidays that Japan and the USA share.  Japan has numerous cultural holidays and national holidays that share little to nothing in common with ours. None of the holidays discussed in this article, for example, are official nationally observed holidays in Japan except for New Year.

In this 3rd part of a 5 part series, we’re opening our hearts to study that delicious February holiday- Valentine’s Day. (If you would like to catch up with part one: Christmas in Japan, please click here, or part two: New Year’s in Japan then please click here.)

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Valentine’s Day in Japan is similar to the United States’ version in a lot of ways.  It is a romantic holiday and huge amounts of chocolate and gift-giving are involved.

Unlike our Valentine’s Day, however, only the girls and ladies give gifts.

W-what? Y-you don't mean that! It's not true! It CAN'T be true!

A month later there is a chance for boys and gentlemen to reciprocate the attention they were given on Valentine’s Day called White Day.

Oh. I see. Carry on.

Originally, chocolate was only given to someone whom the lady was interested in, but in order to be kind to boys who were in the embarrassing situation of receiving no chocolate, Valentine’s Day in Japan evolved to create other kinds of chocolate-giving.

Basically, this. (Not bad!) Or something similar, like prepackaged but less expensive, boxes of chocolate.

Giri or “obligation chocolate” is given to men whom the lady is not romantically interested in, but to whom she would like to be polite.

There is some variation on who receives this kind of chocolate, with some ladies only  giving it out to men whom she is friends with, while others give this kind of chocolate to all the men she goes to school or works with, including the teacher or the boss.  It is often bought, but can occasionally be homemade.

The quality can also vary depending on such factors as how much money the girl has, how much she likes the boys in question, and whether or not it is mandatory to give chocolate to all of one’s classmates or coworkers.

(Some of you may remember a similar rule during your own schooldays, about having a little paper valentine for each classmate, so that no one feels left out.)

The quality can vary- anything from nice to fairly nice to the bare minimum.

Homemade or bought "chocolates" do not necessarily have to be just chocolate either- these are cherry daifuku with chocolate.

Honmei chocolate is given to men for whom the girl or woman has a romantic interest, and is either more expensive, or more often, homemade.

It is one way that a lady can show her interest in a fellow who might have been previously oblivious, or who suspects he has her affection, but wasn’t sure.

Basically, it can mean anything from showing a basic interest to a full-blown crush or being in love.

Continuing its evolution as a holiday, there is also a recent trend among ladies in Japan to give chocolate to their female friends (or even give it to themselves)!

This platonic chocolate is called tomo chocolate.

Tohru giving out tomo chocolate

Good anime examples of Valentine’s Day in Japan are seen in the shows Yumeiro Patissiere and Vampire Knight.

[In the 11th episode of Fruits Basket, Tohru Honda  also shows us a great example example of chocolate-giving (even giving tomo chocolate to her female friends, Hana and Uo) but her example is overly extreme in some aspects- for full details, please watch the episode, or read the summary here.)

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I want a fairy who prevents my cakes from burning...

Yumeiro Patissiere is a fantasy, romance, school-life show centered on cooking.  It follows the adventures of a poor student named Amano Ichigo, her classmates, and the little “Sweets-Spirits” that accompany them through cooking school.

The 19^th episode  is excellent for illustrating common Japanese Valentine’s Day practices, etiquette, and feelings.

Amano is good friends with the “Sweets Princes,” three male students who are at the top of their cooking classes, and all have their own specialty and “Sweet-Spirit.”

Her rich rival, Miya Koshiro, is jealous of Amano because Miya has a powerful crush on one of the “princes,” Makoto Kashino. Her jealousy of their friendship causes her to challenge Amano to a competition for Valentine’s Day to see who can make better chocolate.

You do not have my vote for Chocolate Idol!

We learn in a flashback that the year before, Miya had given honmei chocolate to Makoto, and that it went very badly.  In reality, usually even imperfect chocolate would be received politely and with grace because the giver put in effort to make it— but this is a cooking school and Makoto is often a cold person- whose specialty is chocolate. He actually critiqued the gift explaining all the places where the spoiled heiress had gone wrong making it.  And then gave it back.

Makoto (who seems like the Simon Cowell of chocolate) is pretty much a “do-not” example.  His bad behavior is apparently so notorious that this year no one got him any chocolate. According to his “sweets spirit”, it is “because sending Makoto chocolate is basically like challenging him to a duel!”

The episode also goes over the concept of romantic honmei vs. polite giri chocolate, includes a sweet romantic subplot, and is notable for touching on the other sorts of people celebrating the holiday and giving chocolate, like friends, families and children.

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Break it up people, the only way they want your heart is for dinner!

In the popular anime Vampire Knight, there are good examples concerning some parts of the Valentine’s Day tradition of chocolate-giving and some extreme exaggerations.

Due to the vampire students being  so beautiful and charming,  the other students who wish to show their confectionery affection have to basically be crowd-controlled during the process, as though they were screaming teenyboppers giving Valentine’s Day chocolate to the Beatles or something.

(According to the show’s mythology, the vampires are so pleasant to look at and so magnetic thanks to their species- they are literally inhumanly beautiful, if you think of it that way).

Kaname

While some students at a school may get more chocolate because of their looks, personality, or popularity, clearly this level of mania is not an accurate representation of how most students would behave toward the people they’re gifting.

That being said- it is worth paying attention to the fact that the main character, Yuki, buys nice chocolate for Kaname (the boy she almost openly crushes on) but that the only homemade chocolate that turned out right she reserves for Zero (the boy she tells herself she cares for as a family member, but for whom she really has more complicated attachments).

Viewed in light of what we know about the ideas behind who gets what sort of chocolate, the entire holiday is helpful for illustrating the complicated relationship she has with both boys.

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Thanks for checking in with us for the third part of this 5 part holidays series!  Check back again in the coming weeks and months to see parts 4 & 5, beginning in a few weeks, with White Day in Japan!

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Meanwhile, however you celebrate the holidays, all your friends here at Senpai Magazine share a fond wish for you – may you have a very happy holiday season, from New Year’s fresh start to windy White Day!