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Known as Mutsuki 睦月, “the month of harmony” in the traditional Japanese calendar, January is marked by family gatherings and setting a harmonious tone for the new year to follow. The most important holiday of the year, New Year sees businesses close from January 1st through January 3rd, allowing people to gather and spend time with their families. As such, January 1st is considered auspicious, and great care is taken to ensure the rest of the day is filled with joy, peace, and harmony, setting a tone free of stress and anger for the new year to come. No work is done and family togetherness is prioritized around special activities and meals. Visiting a shrine or temple is a popular family outing during the three days New Year is celebrated, with millions of people visiting popular temples in Kyoto and Tokyo where incense is lit to purify the individual as well as an offering for a prosperous and harmonious new year.
Incense is deeply tied to New Year celebrations. Kaori-zome (香初め, First Incense) is a traditional Japanese New Year's custom of burning incense at home on New Year's Day. Stemming from the custom of gifting incense associated with luck dating back to the Heian Period (794-1195), First Incense is burned to create an auspicious beginning to the new year, attracting goof fortune, health, and happiness to the family in the new year. Traditionally auspicious woods such as kyara and aloeswood are burned. Additionally, incense blended with gold to symbolize both good fortune and charity are burned as are uplifting fragrances featuring and scents of peppermint, citrus, purity symbolizing a positive fresh start to the year.
