Chocolates, cakes and all things lovely and white

March 14, 2010 psychoballerina
Tags: cafes, festivals, food, Japanese Culture, Japanese Life, macarons, pierre herme

Happy White Day!

A month of waiting after the ritual chocolate making and giving that is Valentines Day in Japan comes the reward for all that hard work in the form of White Day. The return of gifts is not simply on a one for one basis, but rather for White Day the gifts given to ladies are meant to be more expensive than those given to men. The idea of 三倍返しor Sanbangaeshi is often observed; you give back three times the value of that which you received for Valentines.

The return is not simply confined to the honmei – or true feelings chocolate – either, but too giri (obligation) chocolates too.

Valentines in Japan is a rather strange holiday for those of us used to romantic dinners, or alternatively, spending a day cursing the celebration of coupledom. While some of these Western ideas have come over to Japan the majority follow the unusual customs of chocolate giving. In the run up to Valentines, girls either buy or, for a true love, make the chocolates to give to their menfolk. This does not just mean boyfriends or husbands. Special people are given ‘honmei’ chocolate, which are often homemade but the overwhelming number of chocolate gifts are ‘giri’ chocolates given to every man you know or work with as part of a social obligation. On Valentines, men are simply the recipients. A month later however, White Day gives the girls a chance to get something back.

While Valentines Day is a worldwide observed event, White Day is an invention of the Japanese Confectionary Association that began only very recently in 1978. Spying a good way to make more money while playing on the feelings of men to reciprocate the kindness of women, the confectioners began by marketing marshmallows to men on the 14th March. This took off and now the lead up to White Day is quite the occasion with convenience stores stocking up on ‘white’ themed sweets and clubs taking on ‘white’ themes for their dresscodes. Any chance to have a celebration…

In the transaction of sweets, it is true that girls who give honmei chocolates are, like the giving of a Valentines Card in the UK or USA putting their feelings on the line a little, as the idea is that one only returns such chocolates if one returns the feeling. Unlike the emotionless giri chocolates, honmei, as the name suggests, carries a risk of heartbreak. More often than not though, the social obligations and face saving culture ensures that men feel duty bound to return the honmei chocolates too. One can only wonder what it must be like being the most popular boy in school at that time…

What this entails is that White Day is rather popular in Japan among the women, who eagerly await the potential returns of honmei chocolates – and non food related gifts – while knowing that the giri chocolate returns will stock their sweets cupboards for the foreseeable future.

As a foreigner looking in and as yet have not participated in the ritual, it is all very interesting and I am not quite sure which I prefer. Slaving over chocolate for my beloved and buying a ton of giri chocolate or bemoaning singledom…the Japanese way does at least have a knack for involving everyone. Including, today, me. About an hour ago my neighbour paid me a visit to give me some macarons she had received from a customer at her shop. She had received too many to handle so passed on some lovely Pierre Herme macarons, including me in the general festivities.

The macarons were gorgeously presented too – a proper gift box of macarons.White Day… I wonder if it would work in the UK…

Entry Filed under: Japanese Culture,Japanese Life

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