Marine Day (Japan’s National Holidays)

A Holiday with a Long Weekend Guarantee

Marine Day is observed on the third Monday of July each year. Its purpose is to give thanks for the blessings of the sea and wish for the prosperity of maritime Japan. As it always creates a three-day weekend alongside Saturday and Sunday, many people take the opportunity to travel or enjoy leisure activities, with ocean-themed events held throughout the country.

While Marine Day is now one of four holidays held on Mondays to ensure a long weekend, it was originally fixed on July 20 and called Umi no Kinenbi, or Marine Memorial Day.

A Holiday Rooted in an Emperor’s Journey

The original date commemorates an 1876 imperial tour to the Tōhoku and Hokkaidō regions by Emperor Meiji. On July 16 of that year, on the return leg of his tour of the north, he boarded the lighthouse inspection ship Meiji Maru at Aomori Port and arrived in Yokohama by sea on July 20. This was the first time the emperor had traveled aboard a vessel other than a warship, and the date of his arrival was memorialized in 1941 with the creation of Marine Memorial Day.

A monument marking the launch of Meiji’s journey that led to Marine Memorial Day at Seitoku Park, Aomori Port. (© Pixta)

Surrounded on all sides by the ocean, Japan has long benefited from the sea in countless ways. As public awareness of this grew, so did calls to make the day a public holiday. In 1996, it was renamed “Marine Day” and officially recognized as a national holiday.

While June 8 is observed as World Oceans Day by the United Nations, and some countries have similar commemorative observances, Japan is unique in designating a full public holiday to celebrate the ocean. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, no other country does this—making Marine Day a globally rare holiday.

Meiji Maru: Japan’s First Ship Designated an Important Cultural Property

Coincidentally, Meiji Maru is the only surviving iron ship in Japan. In 1978, it became the first ship ever to be designated a National Important Cultural Property, recognized for preserving the shipbuilding techniques of the ironclad era. Today, you can visit the vessel at the Meiji Maru Maritime Museum, part of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology in Kōtō, Tokyo.

The Meiji Maru, a National Important Cultural Property. (© Pixta)

Data Sources

• National holidays (Japanese) from the Cabinet Office.
• Appreciating the Sea (Japanese) from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.
• Meiji Maru Maritime Museum from the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. (English site)

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)