Paper short abstract:

The consumer culture of contemporary Japan surrounds customs rooting in the traditional lifestyle. Many of these customs observed in present days have changed forms and meanings. What is the role of the marketplace and of consumption in the popularity and in the meaning-creation of these customs?

Paper long abstract:

The highly developed consumer culture of contemporary Japan also surrounds customs rooting in the traditional lifestyle and cosmology characterizing Japanese society before the start of industrialization and modernization. Many of these customs, while often being called with their old names, have significantly changed their pattern and meaning. In this paper I will examine through some concrete cases the following questions: In what way do the market and the modern Japanese consumer interact with regard to modern rituals? What is the reason for and the background of the popularity of some of the rituals and gift-giving occasions in present day Japan? How is the meaning of the modern ritual observances created in modern days? What is the role of consumption in this process? Popular rituals such as shichigosan, the seven-five-three childhood ritual, modern derivations, such as the coming-of-age ceremony, seijinshiki, and other will serve as examples through which to analyse the above-defined aims. Moreover, the legacy of tradition of some of the gift-giving occasions of the calendar and of the individual's life-cycle will be examined with regard to the presence of these occasions in the modern marketplace.