I have a question . why does Japan not celebrate the Lunar New Year as much as other asian countries? I know there is weird history but also there is the factor of Japan being so western influenced. let me know your thoughts and enjoy this painting of the meiji emperor as a rabbit

3 comments

1. It could be due to the fact that Japan has been heavily influenced by western culture throughout its history – Emperor Meiji himself was a big proponent of modernization and opening up to other cultures. During his reign he even abolished the lunar calendar for official use and replaced it with the Gregorian calendar which is used today. Additionally, Buddhism spread from India through China to Japan over 1400 years ago, but instead of celebrating traditional Chinese customs such as Lunar New Year they opted for their own unique version known as Setsubun instead.

   However there may be more factors at play here than just cultural influence or religious practices – certain historical events like World War II have had a major impact on Japanese society too leading people away from some of their traditions. On top of this there could also be practical reasons why celebrating Lunar New Year isn’t feasible in modern day life; after all most people now work full-time jobs and can’t take off days during what should already be a holiday period! All these things combined might explain why not everyone celebrates Lunar New Year in Japan – though I’m sure plenty still do enjoy the festivities regardless!

2. They changed the calendar in the meiji restoration. So now new year is jan 1

3. To echo what’s already been said:

   It’s because of the calendar change, all the traditions got moved up to January. In Japan the year of the Rabbit started on January 1st.

   You can see that they did use it celebrate the Lunar New Year with Setsubun still being in February and traditions like eating Ehoumaki.