Turtles, Longevity, and Strangely Hairy Tails

Diane Tincher — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 01:44:42 +0000

More Than Tokyo

More Than Tokyo - Exploring the Wonders of Rural Japan

Why turtles have hairy tails in East Asian art

Minogame, by Katsushika Hokusai. (Property of the MET, donated to the Public Domain)

A dear friend who was born in 1919, survived World War II and lived to the ripe old age of 101, shared many pearls of wisdom with me. Among those were several Japanese proverbs.

Like this one:

亀の甲より年の功

Kame no kō yori toshi no kō. “Experience is the mother of wisdom.” That’s easy to understand. Yet its literal meaning is “Wisdom from age is better than the shell of a tortoise.”

Huh?

What does wisdom have to do with tortoise shells?

This proverb expresses its meaning by using wordplay, a favorite in Japanese. Two homonyms are used — kō 甲, meaning turtle shell, and kō 功, meaning accumulated experience. The proverb also alludes to the symbolic imagery of the turtle as representing long life.

Turtles, cranes, and pine trees

Hanging scroll featuring cranes, turtles, and a pine tree - all symbols of longevity in Japan. (©Diane Tincher)

Another proverb states:

鶴は千年亀は万年

Tsuru wa sen-nen, kame wa man-nen. “A crane lives a thousand years, a turtle, ten thousand.”

The turtle, along with the crane and the pine tree, is one of three frequently used images to convey the wish for longevity. It is usually pictured with a long hairy tail and is called a minogame 蓑亀, meaning a turtle wearing a straw raincoat.

But what is a straw raincoat?

Allow me a brief digression.

Japanese parasols. (Image courtesy of Ryutaro Tsukata via Pexels. No attribution required.)

Stiff oil-paper umbrellas, or rather, parasols, came to Japan from China during the 9th century and were used as sunshades. The folding mechanism was invented in the late 16th century, and folding parasols became popular during the Edo Era (1603–1867).

Straw raincoats and kasa hats — conical umbrella hats commonly seen in East Asian art and still worn today — had traditionally been used as protection against rain.

We had to leave it to the Europeans to invent rain umbrellas.

Straw raincoat hanging on the side of an old thatched house, Miyama, Kyoto. (©Diane Tincher)

Back to turtles.

Why do they have hairy tails?

Over many years spent in water, bluish-green algae attaches and thrives on the turtle’s carapace, growing long and luxurious, and giving the appearance of a hairy tail. The years it takes for the algae to lengthen reveal the turtle’s long life.

I confess I was puzzled about these hairy turtles for years. I’m happy to have finally learned how this whimsical image came to represent longevity.

The post Turtles, Longevity, and Strangely Hairy Tails first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

Respect for the Aged Day—Japan’s Unique Holiday for Honoring the Elderly

Diane Tincher — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 19:59:31 +0000

More Than Tokyo

More Than Tokyo - Exploring the Wonders of Rural Japan

The Origins of Keirō no Hi

The third Sunday in September is a special holiday in Japan, Respect for the Aged Day, or Keirō no Hi. On this day, children and adults give flowers, cards, and various presents to their elders in a show of appreciation. Local communities stage performances, hold festivities, and provide special meals for their senior citizens. TV shows search out the oldest people to ask for longevity advice.

Photo by Danie Franco

How it all started

Respect for the Aged Day traces its roots to tiny Nomotani Village in the mountains of Hyogo Prefecture, to the west of Osaka and Kyoto. In 1947, the people of Nomotani christened September 15th as Old Folks’ Day. This was done to celebrate the elderly — defined as those over age 55 — for their endurance and fortitude in surviving the difficult years of the worldwide Great Depression and the enormous upheavals and tragedies of World War II.

At that time, there were 8.4 million people over the age of 55 in Japan, of which 3.7 million were over age 65. A mere 55 people were over age 100. Disease, poverty, and war were powerful obstacles to longevity in early 20th century Japan.

As the years passed, Old Folks’ Day gained in popularity, and the practice of honoring the elderly spread. In 1963, the national government began awarding centenarians solid, 10.5 cm diameter, sterling silver sake cups in thanks for their many years of contribution to society. That year, there were 153 people who were over the age of 100.

Elderly population growth

Old Folks’ Day became a national holiday in 1966, renamed Respect for the Aged Day. The number of elderly, now defined as those over age 65, continued to climb until today they make up 30% of the population. Because the population of Japan has been declining since 2009 and the number of elderly is continuing to rise, the over-65 population is expected to reach 40% of the total population by 2055.

As the Japanese population continues to decline, the percentage of those over 65 rises. (©Diane Tincher)

Due in part to the country’s extraordinary economic growth and improved healthcare, the number of centenarians has grown from the 55 identified in 1947 to 90,526 in 2022, and now 99,763 in 2025. That’s a lot of silver cups.

Apparently, the government thought so, too. In 2009, in order to cut costs, the diameter of the cups was decreased to 9 cm. Since 2016, the cups have been made from silver-plated nickel alloy.

Happy Monday

Following the passage of legislation to create Japan’s “Happy Monday System,” which moved holidays to Mondays to give workers more three-day weekends, Respect for the Aged Day was moved to the third Sunday in September beginning in 2003.

Longevity

As of 2021, the average life expectancy in Japan was the second highest in the world, being ever so slightly edged out of first place by Hong Kong. In Japan, women can expect to live 88.1 years, and men 81.9 years with an average of 85.03 years. In contrast, life expectancy in the UK is 81.77 years, and 79.11 years in the US.

Tanaka Kane of Fukuoka City, pictured in 2019 and 1923. Kane, the world’s oldest living person, was born ON January 2, 1903. She keeps active BY doing math problems, playing Othello, and dancing. (Photos courtesy of Guinness World Records.)

What explains this longevity?

Much research has been done into longevity, and so far the answer seems to be a mix of genetics, lifestyle, and luck. Not much can be done about genes and luck, so let’s take a look at some general characteristics found in the Japanese lifestyle.

Healthy diet

Japanese people generally eat fresh foods, enjoying the variety of vegetables and fish that each season brings. In fact, Washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine, was added to the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.

Low obesity rate

Japan boasts one of the lowest obesity rates in the world, at 4.6% of the population, the lowest among the developed nations. The UK rate is 27.8, and the US rate is 36.2.

National Healthcare

Hand in hand with the low obesity rate is Japan’s healthcare system, where discounted yearly health checks are provided to residents. Along with taking blood samples and administering various tests, waists are measured to check for metabo, or metabolic syndrome. If a woman’s waist is more than 90 cm, or a man’s is more than 85 cm, diet and exercise are prescribed and the patient must return for regular checkups until the desired measurement is reached.

An active brain

Research has shown that elderly people who exercise their brains through active challenges are more likely to retain full cognitive ability and stave off dementia than those who do not. Japanese elderly keep their brains active in a variety of ways—studying English or math, practicing calligraphy, writing poetry, or simply copying news articles from the paper to keep up with the intricacies of the Japanese kanji characters.

Activity and community

A Japanese senior’s life is often filled with activity. Growing vegetables, games of croquet, and club activities keep many elderly physically and socially active. With events to look forward to and friends and family nearby, there is a sense of meaning to their lives, providing them with ikigai, or a reason to live.

Mori Chieko of Kagoshima City, celebrating 100 years. She kept a busy schedule, her days filled with practicing the piano, studying English, and EXERCISING. Chieko passed away in 2020 at age 101. (©diane tincher)

Local Commendations

Prefectures across Japan have joined the national government in honoring their elderly. In Kagoshima Prefecture, in the south of Japan, newly minted 100-year-olds are visited by representatives of the city government who present them with 50,000 yen ($455 USD) and a large certificate. Kashiwa City, in Chiba Prefecture, gives 30,000 yen ($274 USD), while wealthy Tobishima Village, in Aichi Prefecture, awards each of its centenarians with 1 million yen ($9116 USD).

Could all this attention and respect be another contributing factor to the remarkable longevity of the Japanese? We’ll have to leave that one to the sociologists to figure out.

Sources:

https://nationaltoday.com/respect-aged-day/, government site on state of elderly, https://worldpopulationreview.com/, health checks, https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/, https://population.un.org/, Kagoshima City homepage, Nikkei news, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/, https://www8.cao.go.jp/kourei/whitepaper/w-2017/zenbun/pdf/1s1s_01.pdf, http://demography.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-6221.html

The post Respect for the Aged Day—Japan’s Unique Holiday for Honoring the Elderly first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

longevity – More Than Tokyo