A Look at Japanese Valentine's Traditions

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, you may be thinking of what to give your best friends or people you adore. The American tradition has individuals exchanging gifts to those they platonically or romantically love, typically ranging from stuffed animals, flowers or chocolates. 

One tradition of my Japanese heritage that differs from what we do here is that they have distinctions between different gift-giving exchanges, called ‘Giri choco,’ ‘Tomo choco’ and ‘Honmei choco.’

 Giri choco is similar to the American Valentine’s tradition, in that it describes gifting a box of store-bought chocolates to a coworker or neighbor. The word ‘Giri’ translated means ‘obligation’ or ‘duty.’ For ‘Tomo choco,’ a person will give chocolates to their friends (‘Tomo’ translates to friend); this is often done in schools. The final exchange, ‘Honmei choco,’ is the most different from American culture. In Japan, traditionally only girls will hand-make or buy quality chocolate to give to a guy they love romantically. ‘Honmei’ translates to “heart’s desire” so this gift is a declaration of true love. 

Now you may be thinking, “Hold on, shouldn’t the guys do something as well?” Well, exactly a month later, March 14th on a day called “White day,” guys will return the favor with their own gifts if they love the person back. 

Whether you give ‘Giri choco’ ‘Tomo choco’ or ‘Honmei choco’ this Valentine’s Day, I hope it is filled with love!

Written by Karis Cooper

Edited by Ruthann Daniel

Photo by @zmonohan