ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author examines the interrelationship between seasonal and commercial cycles in contemporary Japan, but, unlike Moeran and Skov, my focus will be on domestic consumption practices. In the domestic arena the cyclical, natural rhythms of bodies, of days and nights, months and years, seasons and plants, intermingle with linear, social rhythms of work, child care, leisure and travel. The chapter builds on multiple ethnographic encounters when the author was in Japan over the past ten years. However, the specific data presented were collected during multi-sited fieldwork in thirty urban homes in the Kansai area between November 2002 and October 2003. However, the author concerns so-called ‘festive commodities’, food and decorations, used in domestic celebrations that are part of the yearly ritual cycle. These goods are advertised in weekly pamphlets, but they are also promoted in elaborate displays erected in commercial sites.
