Actually, eating them is part of the customs fo the festival - believed to bring happiness and good health. Don’t worry, you can also eat these dango. These white dumplings made of rice are often presented in 15 to represent the fifteenth of the month, or sometimes 12 to represent the number of months in the year. It’s chosen as offerings as it represents the beauty of the moon - round and pure white. If you see stacked dango ( 団子) as decorations, that’s pretty normal. Arranging them on the roof is offering it to the moon god. Suzuki is used in a bunch of five to ten plumes to resemble rice plants, and believed to prevent any evil from entering the area. Of course, they’re arranged in the traditional Japanese flower arrangement, ikebana (生け花). You’ll often see susuki ( ススキ, pampas grass) - since it’s the tallest in the autumn season - and other autumn flowers placed at home or around the area for the moon-viewing party. Decorations are somewhat huge when it comes to Tsukimi. Some Japanese people will burn incense, visit shrines and offer the food of their harvest to the Shinto gods. Nowadays, the practice and customs of Tsukimi are practiced even a few days leading up to the full moon instead of just on the day itself - regardless of whether or not the moon is visible. It caught on in the 1600s when even the commoners celebrate it - maybe not on boats as such. It originally was just a basic moon-viewing party for the upper class, the elite, who have boat gatherings and listen to music under the stars and the moon’s reflection. Tsukimi goes way back to the Nara period of 710AD to 794AD. It falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, so it’s usually between mid-September and the beginning of October. There isn’t a fixed date each year - it greatly depends on the lunar calendar. This traditional ceremony takes place in autumn to honor the autumn moon, also known as the harvest moon ( 名月, meigetsu), expressing gratitude and pray for a successful seasonal harvest. The moon is so greatly respected that there is even a holiday in Japan for moon-viewing: Tsukimi ( 月見). Regardless of which religion one is in, the Japanese people collectively look up to the moon as a positive force in their beliefs. In Zen Buddhism, the moon symbolises enlightenment. The moon god’s sister takes the stage most of the time, but at night, Tsukuyomi embodies all the positive things of the dark sky - spirituality, dreams and energy balance. The Japanese mood god is called Tsukuyomi in Shinto and the sun goddess is Amaterasu. Shinto centers on the spirit of nature while Zen Buddhism concentrates on selflessness and enlightenment. Religion in Japan is a mixture of traditional Shinto as well as Zen Buddhism - both having a strong appreciation for the beauty of earthly creations. Japan is famously called “The Land of the Rising Sun”, but this island nation has a long association with the moon, it becoming an important part of their culture and beliefs. So stick around to fill yourself with all of these exciting info and more! The Moon in Japanese Culture Along with that, we’ll take a look at the various representations the moon has, as well as the rare and beautiful blood moon - quite an untapped topic when talking about the moon and Japan. They have a whole festival just for moon viewing - which I’ll talk about more at a later part. And when I say significant, I mean significant. I’m obsessed with it, so imagine my excitement when I found out that the moon has quite the significance in Japanese culture. Ask any of my friends - they’re at the point where they’re sick of hearing me talk about the moon.
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