Every year in December in Japan people are preparing for the New-Year’s-card rush – the nengajō. Most people select a design from one of the various apps on their laptops, or more recently their smart devices, and print them up on their printers. It is a survival skill that rivals, if not top, that of word processor skills. A nengajō is a postcard designed especially for the year’s end. It has the year it with a lottery included. The omote (front side) has the names and addresses of the addressee and addresser. The ura has the design.
There are various styles, but the most basic ura design is one without photos. The Japanese follow the Chinese zodiac calendar which is in a cycle of twelve years with each year having an animal (apart from the Year of the Dragon) to represent it. 2019 happens to be The Year of the Boar. So most people incorporate a boar in the design. Those which include photos ones which show the entire family.
The apps generally have an address list function to help you keep track and print up both sides of your card.
Here are some tips (in no particular order) for being a “nengajō warrior”:
- give yourself a couple of days to the nengajō
- keep the cards received from the previous year as reference (and burn the old ones at a new years event at a shrine as a sign of respect to the sender)
- keep your address list up-to-date
- backup your address list
- take at least one photo with the entire family in it sometime in the year (if you choose to include a photo)
- print the omote side first (it uses less ink in case of a mistake)
- check everything before printing bulk
- stock up on printer ink
- if you worried about privacy don’t use a photo (all cards show name and address)
This should get you started if you are new to this Japanese custom. Enjoy.
If you want more detailed information check out these pages by Fukuoka Now and Savvy Tokyo.
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