Coming of age ceremonies are usually held at public halls.
Depending on the area in Japan, some ceremonies are held at hotels or even at Tokyo Disneyland, as it is for those in Urayasu City in Chiba Prefecture.
Normally you will attend the coming of age ceremony of your hometown.
Similar to an alumni association, you get the chance to meet some friends you haven’t seen in a long time.
At the ceremony, one person acts as a representative of the new adults and presents their goals, and the mayor of the city will give a speech.
After the ceremony has finished, it is common for everyone to go drinking with their friends.
The girls prepare a kimono known as furisode for their coming of age ceremony.
Kimono are the traditional clothing of Japan.
The special feature of furisode are the long sleeves. Furisode give the most spectacular impression out of all kimono types.
Nowadays furisode are the most prestigious dress for unmarried women to wear.
Wearing furisode at a coming of age ceremony symbolizes a fresh start in your life.
It also symbolizes getting rid of the bad and attracting the good.
The patterns of each kimono have different meanings, symbolizing prayers and wishes.
For example, a sakura pattern is worn when wishing for the woman to always shine brightly.
However, Japanese people these days aren’t that familiar with these traditional meanings.
On the day of the ceremony, girls will visit a beauty salon to help them put on their kimono.
While it is nice that we don’t have to wear kimono all the time nowadays, that also means that when we do wear one we get very tired. Many layers are worn, and the obi (belt) is tied very tightly.
On the day of the coming of age ceremony, you can see many girls wearing gorgeous furisode around the town.
Some people purchase their furisode, and some rent one.
For a furisode on the cheaper side it would cost around 100,000 yen for a full set.
A higher class furisode can costs millions of yen.
The cost of renting a kimono depends on which kimono you rent.
Renting a furisode usually costs around 100,000 – 200,000 yen, but if you aren’t picky you can probably find one for around 50,000 yen.
It is common to have pictures taken at studio wearing your furisode on the day of or the day before the ceremony.
The furisode worn by girls at the coming of age ceremony can later be worn at someone’s wedding.
