Happy New Year to all JA members and to your family!

There exists many Japanese customs between the end of the year and the beginning of the New Year. One of them are the Kakizome (書き初め). This is a word that we write in calligraphy expressing our good will or a Kanji having a positive meaning. Around January 15th, Kakizome are then put into the Sagichou fire (左義長).

I'll soon add a complete article covering such practices in the Culture Book.