初日の出 * First Sunrises

I never knew about Hatsuhinode 初日の出 until a few years after moving to Japan. I never even considered such a thing either. It wouldn't have mattered if I had since most New Year's Day's mornings of my late teen and adult years were spent with a hangover thus the last thing I wanted to see was painful sunlight anyhow. But then a year or three after I retired as an alcohol drinking someone mentioned it to me here. I think the mentioning came via a post New Year's Day question actually.
"Did you watch first sunrise?"
Watch what? Why? I asked.
Only to be taught that it's a tradition of sorts for many folks in these parts. And so the the next year I tried it and Wow!
What a great way to bring in the New Year.
So the next year I went again.
The next again, and next again, and on and on till this year and no plans to stop anytime soon.

When I first heard about it we were living traditional Japanese style upstairs of my wife's family home, which is just about a mile from an optimal first sunrise viewing location. So year after year I'd see it rise from the same location and other little traditions would be added in. Like after my sons were born the first, and then the second, started joining me so I'd buy them a can of hot coco out of the vending machine on our way and take the little camping stove so we could roast marshmallows because what better way to view the first sunrise than while drinking coco and eating roasted marshmallows!

The place we watched it from was on the beach near the Emperor's old summer palace, or one of them, the one in Numazu now a tourist attraction. We'd watch from the place where a small river dumped into the Suruga bay just south of Mt. Ushibuse. Then one year while out for first sunrise viewing I saw a group of people out in the water watching it in kayaks.  Whoa! I thought. That must be awesome!

I added an inflatable kayak to my Amazon wishlist soon thereafter but big luxary items like that aren't the kinda thing I can just buy on a whim so there it stayed for years till finally one summer after rebuilding my in-laws' kitchen floor my cooler'n ever father-in-law handed me a few 10,000 yen (about $100) notes and said "Don't give this to your wife. Spend it on you) So there ya go, it's time to buy that inflatable kayak!
That was last year. This year we brought in the new year way, way out in Suruga bay in a kayak.  Just me and my two boys it was surreal.

So my location has changed, and no marshmallow roasting in an inflatable kayak so that New Year morning  tradition's gone but the new one's better and we still break out the camp stove to heat up water for instant ramen and/or yakisoba on our last day of the year hike up Mt. Washizu anyhow. I'll write another post about that one--that end of the year tradition of climbing Mt. Washizu.

It's symbolic in the sense that we watch the sun rise up over Mt. Washizu on New Year's morning. So the afternoon before we go up Mt. Washizu, the year before last the whole family joined in so it was me and the boys, my wife and our then 2 year old little girl. Last year was just the boys and I the weather wasn't so great and my wife's more of a fair weather climber. In the beginning years it was just me I'm way happy the family joins in. I don't know how much longer it'll be till it's back to just me. Kids grow and want to do their own thing, inochi mujo life is always changing no two New Year hatsuhinode are the same.  Like everything else though that's all the more reason I revel in each and every one of them. Each moment of them even.

There's something about it...
Cold crisp morning waiting and watching till the first beam of sun breaks over the mountain then putting the hands together in gassho (praying position) and saying a prayer of gratitude for life in the here and now.

I spent some time gathering as many old Hatsuhinode photos from past years that I could find, Inochi Mujo and Sunrise Mujo, some look similar perhaps but no two are the same and each experience was definitely unique--each has it's own little story and happy memories to go along with it. By all means take a look but I highly recommend seeking out your own optimal first sunrise of the year location and trying it yourself.  It beats the hell out of spending New Year's with a hangover, lying in bed (or on the floor, or in a gutter somewhere) dreading that first beam of sun hitting your face.
Based on personal experience of doing both I can say that much for sure!

First Sunrise of 2007 初日の出 

First Sunrise of 2008 初日の出

(No 2009--Was back visiting family and friends in foggy central California that year)

 First sunrise of 2010  初日の出

Catching the first sunrise of 2011 初日の出

First Sunrise of 2012 初日の出 -- The Year of the Dragon. 

 From this year onward I started digging through my kids' toybox the night before to find a character that corresponds with the zodiac animal for the New Year.  

Oh yeah and to the best of my recollecting and photo finding I'm nearly certain 2012 was also the year that "Hatsu-suie" first jump in the sea of the New Year tradition was born

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Year of the Snake -- First sunrise of 2013 初日の出

The boys joined me for the sunrise that year and three adventurous friends joined for the first swim.

 

 First sunrise of 2014 初日の出 - Year of the Horse 

 My younger boy child praying in the New Year, two of the adventurous friends from the previous year along with a couple more and my boys joined me for a cooooold windy first swim that year.

 Year of the Ram (or Shaun the Sheep ;) 

First Sunrise of 2015 初日の出

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Another one with the boys and another cold first swim.

First sunrise of 2016 初日の出 Year of the Monkey

The boys joined in on the first swim again, which made the little girl cry so she got to go out in the sea too! 

First sunrise of 2017 初日の出 Year of the Rooster

and another first swim.  High praise to Canadian couple friends for joining me every year! 

 First sunrise of 2018 初日の出 Year of the Dog

 First year of new tradition watching first sunrise from the inflatable kayak toy.  I highly recommend it!
































Nice peaceful sea this year
Me, faithful as can be Canadian cold water swimm'n pals and my sister-in-law