Today was Coming-of-Age Day in Japan. It's called 成人の日（Seijin no Hi, せいじんのひ）, held on the second Monday of each January. The official age for adulthood is twenty here--20 to legally drink, smoke, vote, drive without needing a parent or guardian's signature. I think it makes a bit of sense to have all these things happen at one age. Of course, not everyone turns twenty on the same day, but it seems to be understood that people who go through this rite of passage during the same one-year span can celebrate together. I think it's kind of nice.
Some of these kimono cost serious money. I knew a girl who asked her mother if she could have a car instead of the kimono that would be tailor made for this special day. Her mother said no.
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