A few days ago I posted a haiku about someone's first dream of the year. Lucky first dreams are among the two most common firsts that Japanese people look to every year. The other of those two is the first sunrise.

Issa must have been very impressed at the sunrise the year he wrote this. We might understand how he felt when we consider just how much some people look forward to the first sunrise. Even to this day temples and shrines with especially good views are packed with people who have been waiting all night or who arrived very early in the morning and are just hoping for a glimpse of that first sunrise. As we get close to the sunrise, TV programs will start talking about it and feature photos of sunrises at various places in Japan.

The most important god in Japan is the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami. Daughter of the creator gods Izanagi and Izanami, she rules the heavens as the queen of the gods. She is also ancestor of the Imperial line. This mythology has made the sun an object of worship in early Japan.

Traditionally it was customary to bow, clap, and pray to the sun every morning and make a morning offering in one's house shrine (the kamidana). Making this same show of reverence on the first morning of the year was even more important, and what's more: it was considered very lucky, granting one good fortune for the entire year.

^{The kamidana. Many houses, especially older ones, have one.}

As with many things, the tradition is fading with younger people these days as they think mythology is silly and they'd rather sleep-in. Even so, you can still find tons of people following it, waking up early on the first morning, watching the sunrise and hoping for good luck.

I'm not one of them (sorry Amaterasu-sama) so I miss it every year, but my in-laws always wake up very early to go out, see it and pray. On years that I stay at their house they will wake us all up when they leave around 3am and ask us if we are sure we don't want to go.

The kigo (season word) here is, as you might guess, first sun. It is a kigo for one day only.

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

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1. That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩