I'm A Man Not A Boy

On my way to work, I saw so many young women dressed in kimono, walking along the road and standing in groups in the train stations. When I say "so many", I mean hundreds. Seriously, it was like a scene out of Memoirs Of A Geisha.

Today marks one of the many rites of passage in young Japanese peoples' lives (one of the earliest will feature in Day 4, when I finally get round to it).

Coming Of Age Day, is for both males and females at the age of 20, and it celebrates their legality into adulthood - as well as being legal to vote and drink. It's customary for the women to wear furisode, a special kimono - with a big furry collar-thing - and have their hair done up beautifully at salons. The men wear tuxedos.

During the day, the 20 year olds attend a ceremony either at their government ward office, or their old high school. In the evening, they go drinking.

I wish I took pictures, but I didn't have my camera on me.

However, believe me: the girls looked incredible!

This is Keiko, on her Coming Of Age Day - the only photo she has on her computer. I'll stick some more of her friends etc in the complete costumes when she gets them.