Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Tomorrow is the national holiday called “Shubun-no-hi 秋分の日.” On or close to September 23rd is shubun-no-hi 秋分の日. It falls during the week of the autumnal equinox like Shunbun-no-hi 春分の日 in spring, and it’s the day when night and day are almost equally long. Buddhists believe that onthe day of the equinox, the sun rises from teh exact east and sets in the exact west, and the spirits of the dead can cross the river which divides this world and the other world. That is why people visit their family graves then and pray for the peaceful repose of their ancestors by offering flowers and incense.

September 21st News, from NILS Japanese language school.