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Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com. In every country, proud parents keep special tokens to celebrate the birth of a child. Some people keep locks of hair. Others keep their baby’s first tooth, marking an important milestone. In Japan, there is a surprising tradition that you might just find a little gross!

This Audio Blog describes an unusual Japanese tradition that might surprise you. Learn about the unusual keepsake, and then test your comprehension with some in depth questions.

baby.



This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Advanced Audio Blog 1 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

12 Responses to “Audio Blog #98 - An Unexpected Japanese Tradition”

JapanesePod101.com says:

みなさんこんにちは、美樹のブログです。

みなさんの国では赤ちゃんが生まれた時、何か記念にとっておくものはありますか?
みなさんびっくりするかもしれませんが、日本ではへその緒を記念にとっておきます。へその緒は赤ちゃんが母親のお腹の中にいた時に、母親とつながっていた管です。赤ちゃんはお腹の中にいる時、へその緒を使って母親から栄養や空気をもらいます。そして生まれた後、そのへその緒は乾燥して自然に赤ちゃんのへそから取れます。日本ではそれを小さな木の箱に入れて大切に保存します。これは母と子供の絆を大切にするという意味があります。また、赤ちゃんを一生守るお守りとしての役割もあります。へその緒を記念にとっておくのは日本や東南アジアの一部にある文化です。
乾燥したへその緒がどんな風なのか想像できますか?私の印象ではミイラのようなかんじでした。
大きな病気をして死にそうな時、へその緒を煎じて飲むとその病気が治るという言い伝えがありますが・・・本当のところはどうなんでしょうね。

へその緒の他にも、髪の毛を切って筆にする人もいます。赤ちゃんの柔らかい髪の毛は筆にするのに最高なんだそうです。
みなさんの国ではどんなものを記念にとっておきますか?

それでは、また来週!

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Clienad says:

admittedly that’s a pretty strange keepsake. I have heard of people eating the placenta however. So all in all its not that bad.

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Eric says:

へその緒を記念にとっておくのは初めて聴きました。 :neutral:

僕は乾燥したへその緒が全然想像できない。 :roll:

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ジャービジ says:

確かに変わった習慣ですよね。でも、もっと変なのを聞いた事があるんです。戦前の事ですが、それは12月31日に生まれた赤ちゃんが次の日に2つになるという「かぞえ年」の事です。そのかぞえ年の入学の時は他の子供より1年早かったですし、大変だったはずですね。

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radha says:

Hello, It is really strange to find similar custums in India. Here too some people keep a small portion of umblical cord in an amulet and tie it to the baby’s waist. It is considered as a protection from bad omen.
Radha

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Ai says:

Wow, thats intresting. my parents keept me and my sisters ambilical cord. :mrgreen:

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Hiroko says:

Clienad san> Yeah I’ve heard about eating the placenta too, and that was after seeing a picture of placenta, so that made me want to throw up :hachimaki:

Eric san> Here are a few pictures of へその緒  :mrgreen:  
WARNING: pretty wild stuff lol
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%94%BB%E5%83%8F:Umbilicalstump.jpg 

Calligraphy brush made with baby’s hair:
http://www.akachanfude.co.jp/shop/006/

In Japan the cases for the umblical cord can be purchased :shock: :
http://esearch.rakuten.co.jp/rms/sd/esearch/vc?sv=2&f=A&g=100533&v=3&p=1&e=0&s=6&oid=000&k=0&sf=0&sitem=%A4%D8%A4%BD%A4%CE%BD%EF&x=0&c=626

ジャービジさん>へぇ~!それは初めて知りました!今でも年配の方は数え年を使うので、私はたまに分からなくなるときがあります  :oops:

radha san> It seems like a common tradition in Asia to keep the umblical cords! How interesting!

Ai san> Really? Where are they from? :grin:

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Angie says:

Hi Mikiさん!
Mikiさんのブロっぐが初めて聞きます!
Mikiさん、しつもんが あります。
Are you the same Miki of beginners lesson #64 right? I LOVED that lesson, you all togheter were amazing :kokoro:
I hope to listen to your blog very often from now! The topics are so interesting!

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仁居流 says:

It sounds like the small portion of the cord that is kept is that which is left on the baby after the cord is left. This small part dries up and falls off on its own. This is the part that is kept?

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Peter says:

Angie-san, this is the same Miki. :grin:

仁居流さん、here is a nice discussion on this.
http://www.jref.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-4115.html

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タネ says:

I had heard of this tradition (I’m Japanese-American). I kept my son’s hair, but did not make it into a brush. Just have it in an envelope.

Do you know of the tooth fairy? When a child’s tooth (any tooth) falls out, we put it under the pillow, and while the child is asleep, we replace it with a small amount of money. We tell the child that the “tooth fairy” came during the night and exchanged the tooth for the money. The kids figure out that the parents gave them the money after a few teeth, but it’s still a fun tradition.

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Yuichi says:

タネさん

Yes! We, Alisa and I have had a conversation about “tooth fairy.”
I didn’t know that there is such a tradition, but Alisa is also Japanese American like you and told us the story.
Did you find out what Japanese do when a child’s tooth falls out? Please tune in the comment part of the blog :grin:

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