Culture

All articles

• Shōgatsu — the Japanese New Year, when the entire country quietly resets in three days

  The Japanese New Year isn't a party — it's three days of national stillness, family, and a specific lacquered box of food. Here's what happens.

• Hanami — the Japanese national ritual of sitting under temporarily-blooming trees, on purpose, with friends

  Japan plans its early-April calendar around a flower that blooms for one week. The whole country gathers under it on purpose.