Ringing in the New Year With Tokyo’s “Knotted Jizo”

The New Year holidays are a particularly important time in Japan. We observe a three-day New Year celebration, which officially starts on January 1.Preparation for the holidays often starts well in advance; we give the house a thorough, deep cleaning, to ensure everything starts the new year fresh and clean. For me, that starts about a week before December 31. When I finish cleaning, I hang the New Year decorations.