✦ zenith calendar · the japan almanac
kokumin no shukujitsu in one quiet layer of your sky, each one explained in its own words.
japan is one of the holiday almanacs that come with zenith calendar. it holds japan's national holidays, kokumin no shukujitsu, as the law sets them, with the extra days off that follow from them.
its dates come from published lists, not worked out on your phone. the equinox days are announced each february for the year after, so they are dated as far as announced. tap a day and read three short paragraphs: what it is, where it comes from, and how it is kept.
gregorian · fixed dates and mondays, with the equinox days as announced
bunka no hi
3 november
the day "for cherishing freedom and peace, and nurturing culture". on this day in 1946 the constitution of japan was announced.
the order of culture is presented at the imperial palace to those who have advanced the arts, learning and culture; schools hold culture festivals, and towns hold art exhibitions and parades.
ganjitsu
1 january
the first day of the year, opening shōgatsu, the new year season and the most important holiday time in japan.
families gather at home with osechi and ozōni. many rise for the first sunrise and make hatsumōde, the first visit of the year to a shrine or temple, and children receive otoshidama.
shunbun no hi
the spring equinox, as announced each february for the year after
the day "for honoring nature and cherishing living beings", when day and night are even, in the middle of the spring higan week.
families visit the family grave, clean it and leave flowers, incense and offerings, and botamochi, sweet rice wrapped in red bean paste, is made and offered to the ancestors.
kodomo no hi
5 may
the day "for honoring the personality of children, working towards their happiness, and expressing gratitude to mothers".
families fly koinobori, carp streamers, and set out may dolls of armour and helmets. they eat kashiwa mochi wrapped in oak leaves, and bathe in water with iris leaves for good health.
zenith calendar draws the year as an orbit round the sun. lit, japan puts its days on their dates on that ring, in pale gold. its mark is its flag, 🇯🇵.
each holiday carries three short paragraphs in its notes: what it is, where it comes from as its own tradition or the country itself tells it, and how it is kept.
on a new install, your phone's own country starts switched on. if your phone's language setting names japan as its region, japan starts lit; anywhere else it waits in the archive, whole.
japan arrives locked, so nothing in it changes by accident. the lock guards your hand, not your eye: you can still read it, shine it or eclipse it from its chip. one tap unlocks it, and then it is yours to rename, recolour or add to.
japan shares one sky with your own commitments. like every almanac that comes with the app, it never counts toward the almanacs you can make for free, and it lives on your phone: zenith calendar has no server of its own.
✦ zenith calendar · the sky around it
japan is a single layer. beneath it is a whole calendar drawn as the sky, your year an orbit round the sun, and every part of it answers your touch.
the sun stands at the centre and the year rings round it, with today's earth riding at today's place, its small moon beside it. tap the ring anywhere else and a faint ghost earth waits on that day.
drag along the ring and the days pass under your finger, the big date and the day's list following as you go. lift, and the day you stopped on stays picked.
tap the small moon beside today's earth and you dive into the week. the moon above shows its phase, named underneath; swipe the dates and each week brings its own.
tap the sun and the ring tips on its edge into a ladder of years. in the week, pull the moon firmly down and the month opens, the moon resting half off its foot.
zenith calendar has no server of its own. tap the gear and switch on "nothing comes in" or "nothing leaves this phone"; lift them, and every almanac is back exactly as it was.
japan is waiting in the app, and the rest of the sky comes with it.
japan (national holidays) ·
Culture Day, bunka no hi, is 3 November, so it falls on 3 November 2026. In Zenith Calendar it sits on the ring of your year in the japan almanac.
Vernal Equinox Day, shunbun no hi, falls on 21 March 2027. Japan's equinox days are announced each February for the year after.
Children's Day, kodomo no hi, is 5 May every year, when families fly koinobori carp streamers.
Zenith Calendar for Android comes with an almanac called japan: the national holidays as Japan's law sets them, with the extra days off, drawn on the ring of your year beside your own days. Turning it on costs nothing.
Japan holds the national holidays, the days off. Shinto holds the shrine year, and buddhist (japan) the Buddhist days of Japanese temples. They are separate almanacs, so you light the ones you keep.
On a new install, the first page asks which almanacs start lit. If your phone's language setting names Japan as its region, the japan almanac starts switched on; otherwise it waits in the archive until you light it.
They are copied from published lists, not worked out on your phone. The equinox days are dated as far as they have been announced.