The present observation of as a

public holiday in Japan were established by the of 1948 (as amended). A provision of the law establishes that when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day shall become a public holiday, known as . Additionally, any day that falls between two other na ...

stems from the celebration of the birthday of the Emperor Shōwa ( Hirohito, who lived from 1901 to 1989) on April 29 every year during the

Shōwa era The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the Taishō era. The pre-1945 and post-war Shōwa periods are almos ...

(1926 - 1989). In 1989, following the ascension of the Emperor

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. B ...

to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...

, the name of the holiday was changed from "Birthday of the Emperor" to "Greenery Day". Officially, as its name suggests, it is a day to commune with

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

and to be thankful for blessings. The day was renamed to "Greenery Day" to acknowledge the controversial wartime emperor's love for

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

s without directly mentioning his name. However, in practice it is seen as just another day that expands the Japanese Golden Week vacation. In 2007, Greenery Day moved to May 4, and April 29 was changed to

Shōwa Day is a public holiday in Japan held on April 29. It honors the birthday of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), the reigning emperor from 1926 to 1989. Shō (昭) means “shining” or “bright”, and wa (和) means “peace”, signifying the "enlight ...

in accordance with a 2005 revision of the law pertaining to public holidays. The Shōwa Emperor reigned for 62 years and 2 weeks. On May 3, 1947, he became a symbol of Japan by the new constitution of the country.

References

{{Japan Holidays Public holidays in Japan Festivals in Japan May observances Forestry events

See also

References