Labour Thanksgiving Day
Next: November 23, 2026
Thank you for the work you do.
The story
Where it comes from
Labour Thanksgiving Day (Kinrō Kansha no Hi) became a national holiday under Japan's Act on National Holidays of 1948, as a day 'for appreciating labor, celebrating productivity, and expressing mutual gratitude among citizens'. It took the place of Niinamesai, an ancient harvest rite in which the Emperor offers the year's new rice to the gods and then eats it himself. The rite had been held on 23 November since the Meiji era, and the post-war holiday kept the date.
How it's celebrated
The Emperor still performs Niinamesai privately at the Imperial Palace, and shrines across Japan, including Ise Jingū, hold their own harvest rites that day. For most people it is a quiet day off. Young children make drawings and handicrafts for the local police officers and other workers who look after them, and the city of Nagano holds an annual labour festival.
Did you know
- The first written record of Niinamesai, in the Nihon Shoki of 720, describes one held in November 673.
- At the rite, the Emperor offers rice that he has grown himself.
- The date was fixed in 1873, when Japan adopted the Western calendar and the rite's traditional day, the second Day of the Hare in November, fell on the 23rd.
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- International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women · November 25, 2026
- Thanksgiving (United States) · November 26, 2026
- World Olive Tree Day · November 26, 2026
- International Day of Engagement in Science for Sustainable Development · November 27, 2026