Japanese woman, 20, captivates internet with snowboarding in kimono on her Coming of Age Day

Subarashii~

Keyla Supharta| January 17, 2023, 05:19 PM

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A 20-year-old Japanese woman who has gained a lot of traction on Twitter for snowboarding in a kimono for her Coming of Age Day.

At the time of writing, her tweet has been liked 329,100 times and viewed at least 16.9 million times.

What's Coming of Age Day?

According to Kids Web Japan, a website aimed to introduce Japanese culture operated by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the second Monday of January is a national holiday dedicated to celebrating the Coming of Age Day.

A Japanese person is legally considered as an adult when they turn 20. It is also the legal smoking and drinking age in the country.

Newly-turned adults in Japan are also encouraged to become "self-reliant members of society" after their Coming of Age Day.

Different municipal governments conduct local Coming of Age ceremonies to celebrate the new contributing members of society.

Many men choose to wear suits for the ceremony these days, whereas women generally wear traditional furisode, a special kimono with extra-long sleeved for unmarried women.

The coolest thing she could think of

Many 20-year-olds would head to their hometown's city hall for their local Coming of Age ceremony, but Twitter user @Katorisenkou_ks, who is currently a second-year university student in Kyoto, chose to commemorate her Coming of Age by heading up into the mountains for a snowboarding session.

 

Video from @Katorisenkou_ks/Twitter.

According to Yahoo! Japan, @Katorisenkou_ks did not attend school regularly due to health issues and began snowboarding in high school.

She also enjoyed doing cosplay and would skate at Takeishi Banshogahara Ski Resort which welcomes cosplaying snowboarders with an open arm.

"I've already left my hometown, and I didn't go to school while I was there, so I always thought I wouldn't have to go to the coming-of-age ceremony," she said to Yahoo! Japan.

But as the Coming of Age Day approached, she began to think that "it's boring to do nothing at the age of 20."

She bought a furisode, the most formal outfit unmarried women can wear in Japan last October in preparation for this occasion.

Given the connections and memories she had with Takeishi Banshogahara Ski Resort, she decided to hold her Coming of Age Ceremony at the place.

In a later tweet, she reflected that she "put so much effort into it (Coming of Age Ceremony)" and she wore a furisode because "it was the coolest thing [she] could think of".

"It's a really nice ski resort where you feel at home," she said, "I'm glad I did it at Bansho."

Top image via @Katorisenkou_ks & @tenere_nm7/Twitter