The July 1858 production of
Shibaraku at the Ichimura-za theater in Edo. Triptych woodblock print by Utagawa Toyokuni III. 

Kabuki is a classical  Japanese dance-drama Kabuki theater is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.

The individual kanji, from left to right, mean sing (歌), dance (舞), and skill (伎). Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as "the art of singing and dancing". These are, however, ateji characters which do not reflect actual etymology. The kanji of 'skill' generally refers to a performer in kabuki theatre. Since the word kabuki is believed to derive from the verb kabuku, meaning "to lean" or "to be out of the ordinary", kabuki can be interpreted as "avant-garde" or "bizarre" theatre.[1] The expressionkabukimono (歌舞伎者) referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed and swaggered on a street.

Until 1988, April 29 was celebrated as the birthday of Emperor Showa. It was decided to keep this day a holiday even after his passing away in January 1989 and to name it Greenery Day because of the late Emperor's love of nature. In 2007, April 29 became Showa Day, and Greenery Day was moved to May 4.

On this day, commemorative plantings of trees are held around the country, as are many events that bring people closer to nature.

St. Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14, and White Day one month later on March 14. It is said that St. Valentine's Day was imported to Japan in 1958 by a Japanese confectionery company. In Japan, it is only the women giving presents - mainly chocolate - to men, but not the other way around. Men are supposed to return the favours received on Valentine's Day one month later on White Day, a Japanese creation. White Day is believed to have been introduced by a marshmallow manufacturing company in the 1960s. The white marshmallows gave the day its name but other kinds of presents such as candy, flowers, etc. have become more popular over the years.

According to our survey, White Day is still less popular than St. Valentine's Day. 67% of the female survey participants indicated that they do celebrate Valentine's Day while only 45% of the men indicated to celebrate White Day. The two events are most popular among participants younger than 20 years with 75% celebrating Valentine's Day and 56% celebrating White Day. Valentine's Day is also more popular among single people than married couples, however, White Day is clearly more popular among married people (51%) than singles (40%). In fact, among married couples, White Day (51.3%) is almost as popular as Valentine's Day (53.9%).

As expected, the most popular Valentine's present is chocolate with over three forth of all women (who celebrate Valentine's Day) following this tradition. One third of the women celebrating Valentine's Day give a present to just one person. Another third gives presents to two to three persons, while the rest (27%) gives presents to more than three. Three out of four women give presents to their boyfriends or husbands, 40% to other friends, 27% to co-workers or classmates, and 24% to relatives.

On White Day, on the other hand, there seems to be a much greater variety of presents. 33% of the men celebrating White Day give cookies as presents. Only 11% give flowers. 55% make presents other than cookies, sweets or flowers. Almost half of the men give presents to two to three women and 29% to just one. The rest (19%) gives presents to more than three women. Two thirds of the men celebrating White Day give presents to their girlfriends or wives. Less than one out of four give presents to co-workers and/or friends. Only one out of ten make presents to relatives.

Tanabata tree at a railway stationBecause the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Tanabata is still celebrated on August 7th in some regions of Japan, while it is celebrated on July 7th in other regions.

One popular Tanabata custom is to write one's wishes on a piece of paper, and hang that piece of paper on a specially erected bamboo tree, in the hope that the wishes become true.

Colorful Tanabata festivals are held across Japan in early July and August. Among the biggest and most famous ones are the Tanabata Festivals of Sendai in August and Hiratsuka near Tokyo in July.