Just as we did with her older sister, we wanted to observe the Japanese first birthday tradition of erabitori at Mirei’s first birthday party. (We opted not to do the issho mochi tradition this time with Mirei, because it was a little heartbreaking when we observed it with Mio.) For those who aren’t familiar with erabitori, here’s a brief explanation.
ERABITORI (é¸ã³å–ã‚Š)
The literal translation for erabitori (é¸ã³å–ã‚Š) is “to pick and keep an item.” The following objects were set before Mirei. It is said that the first object that the baby selects will show her calling, or a tendency towards a specific career field.
WRITING BRUSH: Artist / Writer
CALCULATOR: Merchant / Good with business
BELL: Music / Performing Arts
SCISSORS: Skillful hands / Fashion or Crafting
STETHOSCOPE: Doctor or Nurse (Medicine)
CHOPSTICKS: Chef / Culinary Arts, Never go hungry
DICTIONARY: Scholar / Academic Excellence
BALL: Athlete / Career in Sports
So what did Mirei choose? Watch the videos and see the photos below!
Mio kind of caused a scene with a potty emergency while I was explaining the items… ::sigh::
…back to the main attraction! Here is Mirei choosing her item(s).
It was fun to get a peek at Mirei’s possible future calling! Will she excel in business and/or mathematics? Or pursue a career in music and the performing arts? We’ll have to see! She might just be very busy, trying out various fields throughout her life!
Stay tuned for Part III, in which Mirei gets to enjoy her first birthday smashcake!