The Japanese gifting rites likely to be thought as a wasteful customs, “Chugen & Seibo”

Yu
Yu
Aug 24, 2017 · 5 min read

Gifting culture in the world is one of the communicating tool to maintain and strengthen the relationship between each other for example of showing your affection to someone whom you love or help maintain the relationship to avoid becoming estranged from someone with whom you cannot often connect geographically.

The more formality gifting becomes, the more superficial respect to people with whom you connect from interests you would tend to pay by giving a gift. In contrast to this, the more irregular and private the gifting becomes, the more emotionally you display your affection to those with whom you are familiar.

Anthropologist, Bronisław Kasper Malinowski says economic activity of trading comes not directly from a barter economy but from a formality of giving , receiving and returning a girt with a religious background.

Gifting cultures which had started from religious ritual rites has become more nominal these days as fading its original meaning and people desire emotional connection with each other more personally on those ritual days when people exchange their gifts.

Japan is no exception of these gifting tendencies.

Gifting custom in Japan is divided into two kinds.

One is for sharing the enjoyment of personal gift exchanging by taking an opportunity of the events coming from the western cultures such as Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

The other one is for sending a Japanese traditional gift called Chugen or Seibo to mainly maintain the relationship in more courtesy way.

Japanese traditional gifting custom Seibo & Chugen

Chugen is the custom which comes from a ritual event of Dàojiào and Seibo is the one which comes from a ritual event of Shinto. The commonality of those two customs is starting from an event offering foods on the altar to pray for the repose of ancestor’s souls.

Japan is no exception of these gifting tendencies.

Gifting custom in Japan is divided into two kinds.

One is for sharing the enjoyment of personal gift exchanging by taking an opportunity of the events coming from the western culture such as Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

The other one is for sending a Japanese traditional gift called Chugen or Seibo to mainly maintain the relationship in more courtesy way.

Chu-gen originally indicates the day of offering foods for ancestors to pray for their souls and express gratitude to them for living with safety the first half of the year.

Originally, Dàojiào has a custom to cerebrate God by keeping firing all day long as the day of redemption. After Dàojiào “道教” was introduced in Japan, this custom synchronized with Uranboe “盂蘭盆会” events coming from ancient Indian Buddhism and memorial service for ancestors “bon” was come into existence, which has various kinds of ritual rites such as Bon festival dance “盆踊り” and Mukae-bi “迎え火” which is welcoming fire to ancestors’ souls.

Bonrei “盆礼” which is one of those ritual rites is the custom to exchange foods for offering foods on the altar among parents, relatives and neighborhood. In a limited area of Japan, there is a custom to trade gifts based on the sentiment of praying for living souls at the same time of holding a service for ancestors.

This custom changed its connotation as transition of the time into simply gifting to those from whom you often receive favors .

Oseibo is a shinto’s custom sending offering foods to head family for Mitama “御霊祭” festival to welcome ancestor’s souls before the fall of night.

The reason that oseibo changed to the custom of simply exchanging gifts is thought to be strategy of sales battle by tradesmen.

Why has this gifting rite been handed down as changing its original formality from generation to generation over hundreds of years in Japan ?

I couldn’t find clear answer to this question from the book I read but I think confucianism’s point of view is reflected in these customs.

The period of time Confucianism introduced from Korean Peninsula into Japan was the year of 513 earlier than the period of time Buddhism introduced from China.

Nowadays, confucianism is firmly rooted in Japanese society and there are a lot of people’s subconscious behavior influenced by confucianism’s view point.

Confucianism is a morality to maintain good relationship in Japanese pecking order society.

Practicing the 5 confucian virtues (benevolence、justice、courtesy、wisdom、and sincerity “仁義礼智信” ) is thought to be the best way to go along well between master and servant or junior and senior.

“Benevolence” reasons us seniors should always think of juniors.

“Justice” reasons us juniors should requite seniors’ favors.

“Courtesy” reasons us the importance of showing courtesy to seniors.

“Wisdom” reasons us we all need to remember our places no matter where we stand.

“Sincerity “ reasons us juniors should always be honest to seniors.

It is natural to think that there have already been culturally sentimental tendency established by confucianism which was compatible with ritual customs to install in citizen’s lifestyle.

The way of thinking that respecting seniors who gain more experience than junior at least from a viewpoint of length of lifetime is connected to the behavior of cherishing ancestors equally. That’s why it was much easier for people to accept this ritual. This is what I think.

Opposition against this gifting rite

In recent years in Japan, some of people question whether they show their gratitude to those from whom they receive favors with annoyingness of purposely giving gift in strict courtesy formality in every fixed season even though its original custom has already lost and its remaining rite of is just to exchange gifts with each other to maintain the relationship at the same time to leave the emotional connection with people out of the custom.

In contrast to modern viewpoint, in the period of time people still had strong connection with each other and fellowship in communities in Japan, the factor of emotional connection that this kind of ritual gifting positioned a sort of surprise and real gratitude to close people like friends and relatives to strengthen their fellowship used to be bigger than that of the present Japanese society although people knew it was just a stiff ritual rite lost its original customs.

Personally, I am really sad to know the new generation question the meaning of gifting custom from their critical viewpoint as an unnecessary culture.

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