The Japan Anniversary Association has recently designated December 10th as “Sorry Day” or Gomenne no hi (ごめんねの日). It is not a National holiday. The Anniversary Association register themed days throughout the year to promote the culture of Japan. Gomennne no hi is aimed at having people reflect on the years activities and consider whether they should say sorry to someone.
In Japan, people are normally quick to apologize for even the slightest thing. I often find myself saying sorry when stepping into an elevator that someone is already riding, or for throwing out the trash when I see the building supervisor. It is more of a greeting than an actual apology in most cases ^^. Apologizing is not so much an admission of guilt but more a way to show you understand others feelings in a bad situation that might have involved you.
For those of you having trouble apologizing, here are some girls from gomenne.jp to help you out.
Lets see what TV coverage this site and the “gomenne no hi” gets over the next few days or weeks.
You can buy a calendar which shows all the other days registered as official anniversary days by the Association. Other days on the calendar include:
Jan 12, Ski day (registered by Mizuno)
Feb 7, Olympic Memorial Day
the 4th Wednesday in April, International blind dog day
May 10, Cotton Day
May 23, Love Letter Day
Jun 22, Crab Day
Jun 22, Bowling Day
July 20, Hamburger Day
Aug 4, Billiards Day
Oct 17, Karaoke Culture Day
Nov 11, Jewelery Day
Nov 11, Pokky & Pritz Day (registered by Glico)
Dec 12, Kanji Day
Dec 12, Dozen Roses Day
Looks like there is room in here for some conbini action or a Rilakkuma Fan Day ^_^. Maybe we should put in application to register something.
There is a calendar and すぐに役立つ366日記念日事典 book which details the days at Amazon Japan.
What day would you like to see registered as an anniversary day? What month would you set it in?
8 comments
RT @Shibuya246: Sorry Day, Gomenne, Japan Culture | Shibuya246 http://bt.io/BHLz There’s quite a selection of moe girls to choose from at the website. Japan sure has a long list of non-national holidays to choose from, how funny some of them are. Being a hamburger and pocky fan I woould enjoy them. 🙂
But all in all we need to start an app. for a Conbini Day and a RilaKkuma Day would be even greater! If you were to fill out an application and neede some one to second it, E-mail it to me I’ll sign it and email it back.
Another reason I want to live in Japan instead of the USA. Hopefully Japan stays the way they are and not turn in a usa.
I think for the rest of the world the self reflection is done at newyear 🙂
But this is interesting !
I may not live in Japan but I’m there a few times a year; and you really get in the hang of saying “Sumimasen” more times than you’d imagine you would 🙂 Carrying a large crumpler fotobag around I sometimes bump into people by accident and even *THEY* who are not to blame apologise (for being there at that spot and in that time) it’s kinda odd at first but the mutual respect thing goes a long way.
Japanese can be tricky to learn tough; even tough you know for example what “sumimasen” means, especially in Tokyo, the Japanese people adopt *Alot* of shorter words to say things like “Sumi-ma” or “Masen” that i’ve heard.
I think I better make a list for this. so many to remember 🙂
So, the garusu there are for consolation?
I’m feeling very sorry now…
Funny post.
While translating subs for a site I had a hard time writing “sorry, excuse me, my fault, my bad etc…” to render the meaning of sumimasen.
Okay , Sorry Day is good for the world too . People would apologize to each other for something they did wrong in the past .
Oh!! and I’m Sorry If i didn’t comment or visit your blog often Shibuya246 ^^;;
Crab Day and Bowling Day is the most weirdest days I’ve ever seen Whats next National Neko Day ( Lets hope it happens ^_^ )
LOL, you are excused ;). Maybe we should have a “comment on the blog day” with some cute girls and guys as well. I should check whether there is a neko day. There might just be one in the book?
Looking at this campaign, I keep thinking “don’t hate us because we’re beautiful!” ^^
Very cute idea, but seemingly most redundant in a place where apologising is on a par with breathing. This is something I miss about Britain, and something I still do in the US that annoys Americans. I can’t help it, even if it’s not my fault! ごめんなさい!!