VOL.199 JANUARY 2025
[NEW YEAR'S ISSUE 2025] CELEBRATING A BRIGHT NEW YEAR IN JAPAN
Vibrant Hagoita Decorations for the New Year
Photo: Hakata Okiage
In Japan, one of the indoor decorations to celebrate the New Year is the hagoita. To learn more about its history and origins, we spoke with SHIMIZU Yumiko, who continues the tradition of Hakata Okiage craft techniques in Fukuoka Prefecture to create hagoita.
The hagoita is a wooden paddle originally used in Japan for the New Year’s game hanetsuki. It has a slender handle and a shape similar to a badminton racket. In hanetsuki, players use the hagoita to hit a shuttlecock-like object made by inserting bird feathers into seeds from the soapberry (mukuroji)** tree. SHIMIZU explains more about the hagoita: “The act of hitting the hane (feathers)*** with the hagoita symbolizes the wish to drive away bad luck and prevent disasters. Around the 16th century, the hagoita gradually changed from a practical play item into a decorative piece with beautiful designs. Today, it is mainly displayed as a vibrant decoration during the New Year, symbolizing good health, protection from evil, and the removal of bad luck.”
The decorations on hagoita originally featured paintings directly on the wooden paddle. However, in the 16th century, three-dimensional decorations were introduced using thick paper, fabric, and cotton. This allowed for the creation of oshie (raised cloth pictures), which depicted people, flowers, or scenes from nature. In Fukuoka, the technique of oshie is known as “okiage” and has been passed down as a traditional craft to this day. Okiage involves attaching fabric to thick paper or, alternatively, creating parts by wrapping cotton to add thickness to the fabric, which are then assembled to form a three-dimensional picture. It is said that luxurious silk fabrics, such as those in gold or vivid red, commonly used in kimonos, are incorporated for a rich, vibrant finish.
“By the 19th century, Kabuki* became immensely popular, and hagoita featuring famous actors began to serve a role similar to that of collectible photo cards, becoming beloved by the common people,” says SHIMIZU. “The oshie hagoita also became highly popular.”
Photo: Hakata Okiage
Photo: Hakata Okiage
SHIMIZU, the third-generation successor of the traditional Hakata Okiage craft, occasionally holds exhibitions of her works. These exhibitions attract many visitors from overseas who enjoy the displays.
“We often receive comments expressing admiration for the intricate craftsmanship and designs created by hand. Many also mention being drawn to the charm of the fusion between tradition and modernity, with some saying they would like to take the pieces home as souvenirs for their own countries,” Shimizu explains.
Why not celebrate the New Year by decorating with Japan’s vibrant hagoita as a wish for good health and well-being in the year ahead?
* A traditional Japanese performing art that combines music, dance, and drama. It is believed to have originated in Kyoto around the early 17th century.
** A deciduous tree that can grow over 15 meters tall. It produces fruit with black, hard seeds, which are used to make the shuttlecock for hanetsuki (a traditional game played with hagoita).
*** The seed of the mukuroji (soapberry) tree, with feathers attached, is struck with a hagoita in the game of hanetsuki.
By TANAKA Nozomi
Photo: Hakata Okiage; PIXTA
