In Japan, it is only the women who give presents (mainly chocolates) to men. Japanese women are usually too shy to express their love. (Though it might not be true nowadays.) Therefore, Valentine's Day was thought to be a great opportunity to let women express their feelings. However, this is a custom that smart chocolate companies spread to boost their sales, and it has been very successful. Now the chocolate companies in Japan sell more than half of their annual sales during the week before Valentine's Day. Men are supposed to return gifts to women on a day called "White Day" (March 14th), a Japanese creation.


Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!

miko7410 wrote:

QUOTE:
Now the chocolate companies in Japan sell more than half of their annual sales during the week before Valentine's Day.

Can I assume, from that quote, that japanese people rarely eat chocolate? Or do they generaly dont eat much sweets to begin with?

best regards

Okayyyy..i asked for you!
The answer is no. They don't eat chocolate or sweets really often. Maybe they are some who like it a lot but it's a small part.
Chocolate could be eaten on b-days...chocolate cake...or in summer..chocolate ice-cream.


I hope this answers your question.

Btw: The japanese sweets are called wagashi.
Here's some info:

The History of Wagashi

The origin of Wagashi dates back to the Yayoi Era (B.C.300-A.C.300), when it was no more than natural fruit, berries, and nuts. ?Wagashi? was greatly influenced by the grain processing skills that were introduced from China along with the Buddhist culture during the Nara Era (A.C.710-784), and people started to make Mochi and Dango (different forms of rice cakes). However, these were mainly used for religious purposes and were too exclusive for the average person. The basic forms of most Wagashi we see today come from that era.


Japanese confectioneries made remarkable strides during the late Muromachi Era when Japan was exposed to foreign trade. Trade with Portugal and Spain brought new recipes and ingredients, which profoundly influenced ?Wagashi? making. The introduction of sugar revolutionized the formula for sweetness, which until then had largely depended on the natural flavor of the ingredients, and spurred further development.


By the time the art of Wagashi-making had matured during the early Edo Period (A.C.1603-1867), the ?Wagashi? trade was experiencing great competition and development in Kyoto, Edo, and other regions. Average people were enjoying them as well. The excellent Wagashis developed during this period are practically identical to the ones we see today Its usage diversified also, as they started to appear in tea ceremonies, afternoon snacks, and gifts. It is often served with tea. Now it is mostly eaten on celebrations.

aww...
ii got rejected instead on that day. sad.
Off topic.

Anyway...
Men in Japan are superior in terms of gender. What if the boy really likes the girl very much, didnt get much of her attentions, and wanted to express his feeling. Is it really awkward for boy send valentine gift on valentine's day?

What I see, mostly women are the one who confess their feelings toward the men. Society is changing. Valentine's gift can be as friendship gift. I still wondering...if the girl love the boy, how will the chocolate differ from the others? How will the boy get their message whether the gift is love/friendship?
- what ii see. the chocolate will be more decorative & lovely with heart-shaped sprinkle...
- shy while giving the chocolate & confess?

Women give the men gifts of chocolate as well as other gifts. These gifts of chocolate are divided into three types: giri choco (obligatory chocolate), honmei choco (chocolate for the man the woman is serious about) and tomo choco (chocolate for the woman's female friends).. Giri choco is given by women to their superiors at work as well as to other male co-workers. It is not unusual for a woman to buy 20 to 30 boxes of this type of chocolate for distribution around the office as well as to men that she has regular contact with. Tomo choco is a fairly recent development having appeared on the scene in the past few years.

Needless to say, the approach of Valentine's Day is something that department stores and shops look forward to and promote with zeal because of its potential for increased sales. Large displays featuring chocolate usually with heart-shaped displays start to grace the floors of department stores from mid-January or so.

A woman will normally purchase boxes of giri choco in the several hundred yen range and may purchase an expensive box of honmei choco and another gift such as a necktie for her "special someone". For her female friends, she generally chooses something in the medium price range that she would enjoy eating herself.

While all of this may seem quite one-sided, confectioners in Japan - never ones to miss an opportunity to sell more - took advantage of the Japanese feelings of obligation and created "White Day" in 1980 to help assuage the guilt feelings of those poor obligated males who received chocolate on Valentine's Day. On March 14th, exactly one month after Valentine's Day, men who were lucky enough to receive gifts of chocolate have the chance to return the favor by giving the women who gave them gifts of chocolate a more expensive box of chocolate or sweets (for some reason or other, these return gifts seem to be priced slightly higher than those the women purchase. *maybe because j men get a little bit higher salaries*). Again, the stores provide plenty of reminders of the approach of this day so that even the most forgetful man cannot say that it slipped his mind. The gifts of chocolate that men buy are in white boxes (after all, it is "White Day" and come with separate shopping bags to put them in.

the article is written by: Billy Hammond