Birthdays are special occasions around the world in many cultures, and Japan is no exception. It’s now October (十月) and since my birthday was this month, I thought I would talk about how birthdays are celebrated in Japan! In this blog post we will explore how birthday celebrations have evolved in Japan and what they look like today. Note that in this article we’ll be exploring how regular birthdays are celebrated, but keep an eye out for a future post on special milestones the Japanese celebrate!
Westernization
Historically, birthdays were not a significant part of Japanese culture and everyone’s birthdays used to be celebrated on New Year’s Day. People back then used to believe that everyone got older on New Year’s Day and not specifically on the day they were born. Then Japan became greatly influenced by Western culture after World War 2 and began celebrating birthdays on the date of people’s actual birth. Nowadays, birthday celebrations in Japan have close resemblance those in Western culture with candles, cakes, gifts, and parties.
Celebrating Birthdays for Adults vs Children
Like those in Western culture, birthdays for children are celebrated often with a birthday cake, decorations, and sometimes a small party. Parents usually organize the get-together with family and friends, and it is often hosted at home. Birthday celebrations for children are very similar to those in America, but generally with less fanfare.
Adults celebrate their birthdays in a less elaborate fashion, and most choose to just have dinner with family or friends, or not really celebrate at all. Food is a big part of Japanese culture, so it’s common for a person to be treated to meal on their birthday. Some restaurants are prepared for this and have cake and candles ready to serve. It’s also common for people to spend their birthdays on a date, out to dinner, or just spending time with their significant other or spouse. Birthdays are a special occasion for couples in Japan, so sometimes birthdays are celebrated with friends a few days before the actual birthday and then celebrated with their significant other on the date of their actual birthday.
Gift Giving for Birthdays
Similar to other gift-giving occasions in Japan, gifts for birthdays tend to be simple but meaningful. It’s common to give small items, chocolates, traditional Japanese items (think fans, decorative handkerchiefs, bento boxes, etc.), or even money as gifts, wrapped neatly along with a nice card. The Japanese value quality over quantity when it comes to gifts, and if you don’t know what to get it’s not uncommon to just give cash as a gift (but you should still include a nice card or a decorative envelope).
How to say “Happy Birthday” in Japanese
お誕生日おめでとうございます
[おたんじょうびおめでとうございます]
otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu
Most direct translation of “Happy birthday” and most commonly used. Can be used in polite, formal setting as well as informally.
誕生日おめでとう
[たんじょうびおめでとう]
tanjoubi omedetou
More casual (eliminates gozaimasu) and should be used in informal settings.
ハッピーバースデー
Katakana version of “happy birthday”
Super casual, can be used with close friends and family.
_歳のお誕生日おめでとうございます
[_さいのおたんじょうびおめでとうございます]
_ sai no otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu
e.g. 22歳のお誕生日おめでとうございます
Formal way to say “Happy 22nd birthday”
_歳おめでとう
[_さいおめでとう]
_ sai omedetou
e.g. 22歳おめでとう
Casual way to say “Happy 22nd birthday”
Well wishes
Some phrases you can add to birthday cards.
素敵な一年になりますように
[すてきないちねんになりますように]
suteki na ichinen ni narimasu youni
“Have a wonderful year”
生まれてくれてありがとう
[うまれてくれてありがとう]
“Thank you for being born” is a more intimate and usually reserved for use by parents to their children.
What Birthdays Were Like as a Japanese American
With Japanese parents at home but living in America, my birthday celebrations were closer to the way Americans celebrated birthdays. Especially when I was young (under 10 years old), I would invite friends over for a party, have cake, and open gifts. I would also attend friends’ birthday parties, which were held at home or at a venue, and bring gifts, enjoyed cake, and partook in games and activities. My birthdays parties were never super extravagant, but they were a little bit more elaborate than maybe another child my age would celebrate their birthday in Japan.
As I got older, I stopped having birthday parties but would have a nice dinner with my parents and have a treat with them (usually cake or baked good of some sort, but I remember one year in high school all I wanted was cheese bread from the local bakery). Throughout my life my parents would always have a nice card picked out for me, and a special meal with a treat we shared when I lived with them. While I had more American-like birthdays with my friends, at home my parents kept a more Japanese-like tradition of celebrating birthdays.
As I reflect on my more recent birthdays, I am starting to like the simpler celebration better. I will accept gifts if given to me, but I like to spend my time with people I care about. For my birthday this year, I went to a local event and had a very nice dinner with my boyfriend the weekend before my birthday. Since my birthday was during the week this year, I had class and work all day so it was better to celebrate it the weekend before, though I did spent some time with friends and my boyfriend on the actual day as well. This may be more of an effect of becoming an adult and not necessarily preferring Japanese culture over American culture, but simpler birthday celebrations where the focus is to spend time with people I like is the way I enjoy reflecting on the past year and realizing I am getting older and older by the year.
