Labor Thanksgiving Day is the modern name for an ancient
harvest festival known as , celebrating the harvest of the
Five Cereals. The classical chronicle the
Nihon Shoki mentions a harvest ritual having taken place during the reign of the legendary
Emperor Jimmu (660–585 BC), as well as more formalized harvest celebrations during the reign of
Emperor Seinei (480–484 AD). Modern scholars can date the basic forms of
niiname-sai to the time of
Emperor Tenmu (667–686 AD). Traditionally, it celebrated the year's hard work; during the
Niiname-sai ceremony, the
Emperor would dedicate the year's harvest to
kami (spirits), and taste the rice for the first time. The festival was held on the second Day of the Rabbit in the 11th month of each year under the
lunar calendar, and was fixed at November 23 when Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873. During the
occupation of Japan after
World War II, the
United States-led authorities sought to abolish Japanese national holidays rooted in the
State Shinto mythology, including
Niiname-sai. This led to an official recommendation to the Japanese government (with the practical effect of an order) to replace these holidays with secular ones. The Japanese government responded in 1948 by adopting a new national holiday law that renamed the holiday to Labor Thanksgiving Day while keeping the date the same.
May 1 is also celebrated as Labor Day by many
trade unions in Japan, which hold large rallies and marches in
Tokyo,
Osaka and
Nagoya. ==Celebration==