Get in the Spirit: Celebrate Halloween in Japan

Have you ever wondered how other cultures celebrate your favorite haunted holiday? Here, Japanese teacher Taro T. explains how Japanese people get in the spirit and add their own twist to Halloween…

Japan may be far away from the United States where Halloween is widely celebrated, but wearing costumes has become a tradition in Japan. In the land of anime and video games, wearing costumes, or cosplay, has been a part of Japanese sub-culture for decades.

Despite the increased popularity of Halloween in Japan (ハロウィーン), in the past, dressing up in costume usually meant attending cosplay conventions. Tens of thousands of people attend such events every year. This part of Japanese culture has also become popular in Western countries. In fact, in 2014, over 33,000 people attended Otakon, a cosplay event in Baltimore, Maryland.

Thanks to the cosplay culture, Halloween has become increasingly popular in Japan as young people continue to embrace American culture. Last year in the Shibuya District in Tokyo, throngs of people took to the streets to celebrate Halloween in Japan.

If you happen to be in Tokyo on Halloween, you’ll be impressed by the costumes and makeup. When I first experienced Halloween, in high school in the U.S., I remember seeing a kid dressed as Bob Marley. I was amazed by the work kids put into their costumes. In Japan, you’ll see the same type of elaborate, high-quality costumes.

The obsession with Halloween in Japan may also be due to Obon, a period in August in which Japanese people celebrate their ancestors’ spirits. It’s an annual Buddhist holiday where people visit their relatives and honor their ancestors.

A yurei is a karmic ghost that’s associated with Obon and Halloween in Japan. A yurei is terrifying, like something you would see in a horror movie.

On the other hand, an obake is a cute, anime-like ghost which is also associated with Obon and Halloween in Japan. For Japanese people, Halloween is a time to have fun and show off their costumes.

In addition, Halloween in Japan is very marketable. Businesses take advantage of the opportunity to sell candy, costumes, and Halloween-related goods. Growing up in Japan as a kid, I remember getting candies that came in a Jack-o’-lantern case. My mother put the case by the front door, and I would avoid passing that area at night because I was afraid of the Jack-o’-lantern.

Halloween may be a relatively new holiday in Japan, but Japanese people love to put their own twist on this American tradition. If you have a chance to visit Japan on Halloween, I’m sure you’ll have just as much fun as the locals.