YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Japan’s Coming of Age Day is a sure sign of winter, arriving after New Year celebrations and before the cherry blossom parties of early spring. The national holiday is held on the second Monday of January. People turn out to admire the elaborate outfits young people don to celebrate the transition […]
World
AP PHOTOS: Young people in sumptuous kimonos and sober suits mark Coming of Age Day in Japan
Audio By Carbonatix
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Japan’s Coming of Age Day is a sure sign of winter, arriving after New Year celebrations and before the cherry blossom parties of early spring.
The national holiday is held on the second Monday of January. People turn out to admire the elaborate outfits young people don to celebrate the transition from child to adult. The age of adulthood has been lowered from 20 to 18, but many of the participants are still 20-year-olds.
The men usually wear sober black suits, but the women are resplendent in kimonos woven in lustrous patterns — often of flowers — and a bright array of colors, many with elaborately constructed hairdos and fancy handbags.
In photos by chief Tokyo photographer Eugene Hoshiko, throngs of young people milled Monday on the streets of Yokohama, a city that forms part of Greater Tokyo. The women wore fur muffs to keep off the chill. One chatted on her cellphone. There were many wide smiles and self-conscious poses, selfies and hugs.