<figure id="attachment_353326" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353326"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4bcd5be8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/a8eab834bce8272c2279086d4a1c19c8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353326" class="wp-caption-text">Young people with hair dyed rainbow or gold and dressed in sparkling costumes. They exclaimed to this reporter, &#8220;The most important thing is friends!&#8221; they exclaimed to the reporter.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> Congratulations to you all!</span></span></p>
<p>On January 7, a flamboyant &#8220;Coming-of-Age Ceremony&#8221; (a ceremony to commemorate 20 years of age) was held in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. With Corona moving to Class 5 and the removal of restrictions on admission, more than 8,000 people, nearly triple the number of last year, attended the event. A pair of women dressed in gorgeous wedding kimonos (second photo) were singing in hushed tones.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> I&#8217;ve saved up for this day with my part-time job. Please take a look!　The total cost, including the dressing fee, is one million yen!</span></span></p>
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<p>This year&#8217;s festival was marked by a variety of unique wedding kimonos. A man who works at a fresh fish store wore a hakama decorated with stuffed marlin tuna and eels. Others wore their favorite Kitty dolls or dyed their regents in seven different colors for good luck.</p>
<p>In the past, the ceremony was ridiculed as &#8220;the most unsafe coming-of-age ceremony in Japan&#8221; because of the drinking and violent acts that were reported, but the number of troublesome acts has been decreasing every year. This year, too, the ceremony went on without major trouble.</p>
<p>But that is not all. Last fall, the &#8220;flashy hakama,&#8221; which are synonymous with the ceremony, were exhibited at one of the world&#8217;s four major fashion shows, the New York Collections. It has become a part of Japanese culture that is recognized around the world. Masashi Ikeda, representative of the kimono retailer Miyabi, which helped spark the trend, says, &#8220;In addition to the unique hakama, there are many other styles of hakama.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> In addition to the unique hakama, we received many orders for banners with our name on them. We also made rakes for the first time. With so many of these items being carried, the festival was even more spectacular than in previous years.</span></span></p>
<p>Kitakyushu&#8217;s coming-of-age ceremony became even more gorgeous and unique. The venue was overflowing with the energy of the young people who had reached this milestone.</p>
<figure id="attachment_353330" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353330"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b5939141"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/89e7b50b8202859056d9114427e90368.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353330" class="wp-caption-text">The sumptuous costumes, which cost a total of 1 million yen, appealed to the crowd. The gold and silver-colored costumes were decorated with dragons.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="The &quot;flashy&quot; coming-of-age ceremony has become a part of Japanese culture recognized around the world."></div>
<figure id="attachment_353327" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353327"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="aae6a4e3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/402e51803910f3af2766d5b35ecf091e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353327" class="wp-caption-text">A group of five people wearing pure white hakama. They brought custom-made Dom Perignon bottles printed with a group photo from their junior high school days for their friends who did not attend.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_353329" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353329"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e2c46f7e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/95267b86b01b9b06a363ef90521d3a04.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353329" class="wp-caption-text">A man shows off his rainbow-colored hakama matched with a rainbow regent. A large peacock was painted on his back.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_353328" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353328"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="76b0f30d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/dcd0d5b72041bdd7ddeceead8ba0e2ba.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353328" class="wp-caption-text">We also spotted a couple who had been dating for six months. They even shared a passionate kiss when the cameras weren&#8217;t rolling.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_353325" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353325"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5b6ea6cd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/92c2a8fdd6b735241b3479a39ec64384.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353325" class="wp-caption-text">The couple was dressed in pink, from the banner to their ceremonial kimono and fans. They were holding bouquets of flowers in both hands as a token of their gratitude.</figcaption></figure>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="We closely followed the &quot;flashy&quot; coming-of-age ceremony!"></div>
<figure id="attachment_353393" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353393"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e9b470a3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/160d42ee485fa6cb8a17884858546c75.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353393" class="wp-caption-text">Kitakyushu City&#8217;s &#8220;Flashy&#8221; Coming-of-Age Ceremony Gets Even More Gorgeous! Close-up shots of the participants!</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_353394" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353394"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a0d32640"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/6f79d6d6754b193831a95d4eacf6924a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353394" class="wp-caption-text">Kitakyushu City&#8217;s &#8220;Flashy&#8221; Coming-of-Age Ceremony Became More Gorgeous than Ever! Close-up shots of the participants!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_353395" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353395"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b65d5b68"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/dbb5b151b1a79534ef3c59eed99cb9f6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353395" class="wp-caption-text">Unpublished cuts from the magazine Kitakyushu City&#8217;s &#8220;flamboyant&#8221; coming-of-age ceremony was even more gorgeous than ever! Close-up shots of the participants!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_353396" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1667px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353396"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bb7d8b43"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/531483ba28ce050cbae296074d6f51e1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353396" class="wp-caption-text">Unpublished cuts from the magazine Kitakyushu City&#8217;s &#8220;flamboyant&#8221; coming-of-age ceremony was even more gorgeous than ever! Close-up shots of the participants!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_353397" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-353397"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="867bb6c2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/c99369b095422833d81861af902165b2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-353397" class="wp-caption-text">Unpublished cuts from the magazine Kitakyushu City&#8217;s &#8220;flamboyant&#8221; coming-of-age ceremony was even more gorgeous than ever! Close-up shots of the participants!</figcaption></figure>
<p>From the January 26, 2024 issue of FRIDAY</p>
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 Hiroto Kato

 On January 7, Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture held a "flamboyant" coming-of-age ceremony (a ceremony to commemorate turning 20). The ceremony was filled with people in their most distinctive "match-wear," and the "dress for the occasion" was a sight to behold.

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