One of the many New Years’ customs in Japan is the handing out of “Otoshidama” (お年玉) — something of a New Years’ allowance where elders give money to their younger relatives. But this being a custom doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make it entertaining. See for yourself.
Part of the custom of Otoshidama is that the money given is handed out in small envelopes. In fact, there are dedicated envelopes that are sold in Japan solely for the purpose of Otoshidama. Much like paper money in other countries, the bills in Japan are decorated with images of famous historic figures. Rather than simply hand out Otoshidama each year and be done with it, some people have found more creative ways to entertain the recipients by cutting the envelopes to show the faces inside, or even making their own gag envelopes.
Japanese news blog Oreteki Game Sokuhou @ Zin (俺的ゲーム速報＠刃) has collected various images from across twitter of the interesting, funny, and, in some cases, creepy ways that people have found to put an interesting spin on an old custom.
お年玉のぽち袋が今年もネタ満載でヤバイ！ｗｗｗｗｗｗ [俺的ゲーム速報＠刃]
Comments
5 responses to “Giving Money As A Gift, Turned Into An Art Form”
Haha that’s a great idea. But i’m too lazy -.-
It’s always appreciated how Kotaku US takes care not to include spoilers in their heading images.
What is even getting spoiled here?
It all started when GerminalConsequence started hearing buzz about this new gift card craze in Japan on twitter. Yet s/he only heard of faint whisperings and obscure references to it – nothing directly stating what the craze consisted of. “My, that sounds intriguing”, mused GerminalConsequence to him/herself, “I’ll have to check that out for myself next time I set voyage for the Orient”. Determined to view this curiosity in the flesh, GerminalConsequence vowed to abstain from social media networks in order leave the sweet imaginings of what it could consist of unsullied. However restraint from the internet as a whole proved too difficult for poor GerminalConsequence. “Surely my beloved Kotaku will prove safe,” thought GerminalConsequence in a clandestine soliloquy. “Surely I could peek at the world of gaming without spoiling the answer that has become the meaning of my very existence”.
Verily, more baneful words have never been spoken.
It’s true. I wanted to discover the mysteries of Otoshidama first hand but now it’s all ruined thanks to Kotaku! I am outrged. Outraged I tell you and I shan’t shop again here, though secretly I will when I think no one is looking.
But really there’s a bit of an Attack on Titan spoiler there that ruins some of the suspense and mystery building.