New Year's and nengajyou...

So, I'm back in Japan, and in lieu of a more chronological update, I thought I'd take the time to tell you a little about the Japanese custom of nengajyou, or New Year's Day cards. Instead of sending Christmas cards, Japanese people send these postcards so that they arrive on the 1st of January. The post office guarantees delivery on the first if they are marked "nengajyou" and are posted within a time limit, from mid-December to near the end of the month. Most of the postcards have the Chinese zodiac sign of the new year as their design - 2006 is the year of the dog.

Anyway, I came home to find several of these nengajyou in my mailbox, a couple made by my students:


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

This one reads something like: "How are you? It was fun to meet you during the third semester. **This is romaji!" (Romaji is Japanese written in roman characters.)


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

This one says something like: "I'm sorry this New Year's card is late. Your English class is very fun! Let's enjoy this year, too."

This one is from a Japanese friend:


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

And this one is from Rosalind's supervisor:


New Year's Day Postcard
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Anyway, nengajyou are kinda fun - it was nice to have some friendly mail to welcome me back. Hope all of you are doing well!