Spring of Meetings and Partings

When the cherry blossoms open and a warm breeze drifts through the air, new chapters of life are unfolding all across Japan. First-graders hoist their randoseru backpacks for the very first time. Fresh-faced graduates step into the workforce in crisp new suits. Young people haul cardboard boxes into unfamiliar apartments. For the Japanese, spring is the season of deai (encounters) and wakare (farewells), a time when people shake off the old and embrace something new.

Behind this seasonal rhythm lies a deeply rooted agricultural worldview and one of the world's more unusual academic calendars: the April school-entry system. In this post, we'll explore how April came to mark the start of the school year in Japan, what graduation and entrance ceremonies look like set against a backdrop of cherry blossoms, and what makes spring such a defining cultural moment here. We'll also round things off with some gift ideas perfect for anyone embarking on a new chapter.

While September is the standard start of the academic year in most of the world, Japan begins in April. To understand why, you first need to understand what spring actually means to the Japanese.

Japan was historically a rice-farming society, and spring was when preparations for planting began, the opening act of an annual cycle that moved from sowing to harvest. It was also the season when dormant trees put out new shoots and hibernating animals stirred back to life. In other words, spring signaled renewal for people, animals, and the natural world alike.

This sensibility is embedded in the nijushi sekki, the traditional lunisolar calendar that divides the year into twenty-four seasonal nodes. In that system, Risshun, the "Start of Spring," was treated not merely as a seasonal marker but as the beginning of the year itself.

Through the Edo period (1603–1868 CE), students could enroll in school at virtually any time of year. That changed in the Meiji era (1868–1912 CE), when the government, in its drive to modernize along Western lines, adopted the September start used in Europe and America. It didn't last long. By 1900, elementary schools had officially shifted to April enrollment, a transition shaped, it's said, by the timing of the rice harvest (then the government's primary source of tax revenue) and the scheduling of military conscription.

Today, Japan runs on a fiscal and academic year that stretches from April through the following March, making April 1st the official start of a new year for schools and companies alike.

Spring in Japan is not only when the new school year begins, but it's also when the previous one closes.

Graduation ceremonies are held at every level of education, from elementary school through university, and typically take place in March. Each graduate receives their diploma individually, and the ceremonies often include student speeches and group singing.

Younger students wear their school uniforms, but university graduations have their own dress traditions. Among female students in particular, hakama, a type of traditional garment worn from the waist down, layered over a kimono, has become the signature look for the occasion. Unlike the yukata or kimono, which come up fairly regularly at summer festivals and formal events, hakama are rarely worn outside of graduation, which means many women put them on just once in their lives.

Because the school year starts in April, the late-March to early-April window, which is peak cherry blossom season, falls right in the middle of graduation and entrance ceremonies. The sight of students and their families gathered beneath canopies of full-bloom blossoms for photographs has become one of the defining images of the Japanese spring.

The cherry blossom is Japan's quintessential spring flower, and its role in the season of encounters and farewells runs deep. The blossoms fall almost as soon as they open, and that fleeting quality has long been linked to the bittersweet feeling of parting, which is why sakura appear so frequently in the lyrics of graduation songs and farewell anthems.

Since most Japanese students graduate in March, it follows that new employees typically join their companies in April, right in step with the academic calendar. Unlike in many Western countries, gap years are uncommon; most graduates move directly from campus into the workforce without much of a pause. This seamless transition is itself a reflection of Japan's traditional hiring culture, in which companies recruit new graduates all at once rather than on a rolling basis.

Come April, office districts fill with new hires navigating their commutes in stiff, unfamiliar suits. There's an unmistakable freshness about them, and for many older workers, that sight is as reliable a sign of spring as the cherry blossoms themselves.

For many young people, starting a job also means leaving home. Those who grew up outside the major cities often relocate to Tokyo, Osaka, or other urban centers for work, trading familiar surroundings and family for a new life somewhere else. It's a season of mixed emotions: the loneliness of separation layered over the excitement of what lies ahead.

It's no coincidence that spring is Japan's busiest moving season. The convergence of students entering new schools, graduates starting jobs, and employees transferring to new postings creates a concentrated surge in demand for moving services between March and April that stands apart from the rest of the year.

With a new home often comes the need to build a household from scratch, and that makes gift-giving particularly meaningful during this season. For someone setting up their first apartment, practical items like everyday dishes, kitchen tools, and towels are always welcome. So are things that make a new space feel like home: small decorative pieces, houseplants, or aromatherapy goods.

In the whirlwind of adjusting to a new life, it's easy to put self-care last. A thoughtful gift that carves out a moment of comfort and ease can be exactly the kind of encouragement a person needs, a quiet reminder that someone is rooting for them.

Looking for the perfect gift for someone starting fresh this spring? Head over to the MUSUBI KILN blog for a carefully curated selection of items chosen with new beginnings in mind.