Behind the mask - Halloween in Japan

Halloween in Japan is a completely different experience than Halloween in America. Experiencing it through the eyes of a different culture was interesting to say the least. At most, it was an experience I will never forget.

Since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I spent a whole month carefully crafting lessons that would excite and educate. I wanted my students to know about the holiday, but mostly I wanted them to have fun, since that is what Halloween is all about.

In Japan, Jack o' Lanterns and witches started appearing in restaurants and stores about the same time as they do in the states. So I was encouraged that Halloween wasn't completely foreign to my students. Aside from the very young, I was right. Some of these with more multicultural parents or with a strong interest in English had even attended costume parties or gone trick or treating. But overall the childhood Halloween traditions I grew up with were unknown to the majority of my students. They recognized the monsters and symbols, but not the activities or significance. But then again, I have as much, if not less understanding or their festivals.

So on Halloween day I pulled out all the stops. I came to school in full costume (well, I changed once I got to school actually). This year I went as Gintoki Sakata from the anime Gintama. It was a show (and manga) many of my students know well. Aside from the first grade, who did not recognize me or the character and had to be told, the costume was a huge hit with students and staff. As was my makeshift trick or treating during lunch. Because candy is not allowed, I had printed and cut out several hundred paper candies. Trick or treat rang through the halls as children ran up to me in masks we had colored earlier in the week. It was glorious.

And it only got better when darkness fell. I had made plans to meet friends and wander Namba in costumes. As I made my way to the subway station, I could not help swelling with happiness at the caped boy who zipped past me on his bike of the group of six school kids in masks waiting to cross the street. Still, these underage revelers were rare. In Japan, Halloween is a holiday for the twenty to thirty demographic. And they were really, really into it.

There were several things I noticed about Halloween costume culture in Japan. First, you must add bloody bandages and fake wounds to everything. You can't just be a flight attendant. You have to be a zombie flight attendant. SWAT team - no. Zombie SWAT team - yes. Sexy nurse?  Sexy zombie nurse. So many walking dead! 

Second, you can never have just one of something. At least, not usually. Everywhere we looked there were groups of witches, nurses, cats, Native American show girls, etc. In mixed gender groups, all the girls matched and all the boys matched. It was a new phenomenon for the four Americans snaking our way through the crowds. In America showing up in the same costume is embarrassing. Purposefully dressing alike is an unspoken taboo. I found the homogenous groups fascinating as an unconscious manifestation of one of the core differences between Japanese and American culture. In our foursome, there was me, Gintoki, a panda with a tie, Rilakkuma, and a fourth friend who dressed as himself.

The third and most astounding thing I noticed about Japanese Halloween revelers was the attention to detail put into each costume. Even store-bought getups were embellished with outstanding attention to detail. I saw makeup that would put any Hollywood makeup artist to shame. Famous characters walked through the crowds as if they had just stepped off the screen or page. The costumes were elaborate and extraordinary. It was a visual carnival. In fact, we had planned to spend a good portion of the night drinking. Instead we wandered back and forth along the crowded streets of Namba, Amemura, Denden Town, and Dotenbori. I was even asked to pose for pictures with several Gintama fans.

Experiencing Halloween in Japan was an enlightening experience. Without even meaning to, it highlighted some of the key differences between my culture and the one I am living in. But it also showed me how my culture and traditions are being incorporated into Japanese culture. In America, Halloween has long been a night for people to pretend to be someone or something else. It is a night of dreams and nightmares. For one night, we let down (or dye, or cover) our hair and indulge our secret sides. This is exactly what I found on the streets of Namba. For one night, some of Japan took off the mask of decorum and embraced their rebellious, scantily clad, unique personalities.

Also, they love pumpkin.  Pumpkin everything!