It’s that time of year again here on Okinawa and when Bonenkai celebrations take place all over Japan. Bonenkai literally means “Forget the year Parties” and it is a time for company staff, members of clubs and groups of friends to eat, drink - particularly to drink - and be merry, getting together to forge closer bonds.
Bonenkai or "Forget the year Parties" are held throughout December while Shinnenkai or "New Year Parties" are held in January. They are social gatherings of company workers, business and other friends that usually take place in an Izakaya or traditional Japanese resturaunt. Food served at these events is traditionally cooked in a pot – the warming fish and meat soups being the perfect antidote to the weather. These should not be confused with the New Year celebrations that take place during the Shogatsu holidays (January 1-3) and which are traditionally family events.
Bonenkai is a party usually held among office colleagues and bosses. This celebration is not confined to companies and you will see clubs, associations and informal groups of friends, some people have many Bonenkai to attend in the month of December. It can be hard on the liver.
Bonenkai litarelly means a "Forget the year Parties" to forget the unpleasant memories of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind. At the party, bosses usually tell the staff to be Breiko (to forget their position and be impolite!), because the relationship in the workplace in Japan is a bit strict. Bonenkai is seen as a time when it possible to drop the inhibitions that may have been in place between co-workers during the year. It is a time when it is possible to get closer, on a personal level, to colleagues one has seen almost every day during the year but with whom the formal, polite barriers of office etiquette have never been breached. Some company workers take the Bonenkai as an opportunity to say things to their bosses they would never dare to under normal circumstances. The complaints are usually taken in good part and offence is not taken because this is the one time of the year everybody can drop the carefully composed fronts they present to each other during the year. Some of these grievances, though spoken in jest, under cover of an alcoholic haze, may be acted upon in the coming year. So the Bonenkai can be said to have a useful social function as well as a good excuse for a party.
After the beginning of December, many bonenkai take place. These are motivated both by the idea of expressing appreciation for people's hard work during the year and the notion of forgetting difficulties, and having a good time at the year's end. The Japanese people are very fond of bonenkai, and people of all ages and belonging to all kinds of groups, including students and company employees, become busy planning these events. In most cases, each participant pays his or her own expenses, but there are cases where companies sponsor bonenkai for their employees and cover these parties' costs.
There is scarcely a firm in the country that does not lay on such an event for its employees. The company often does a deal with the Izakaya it has chosen, for its group to eat and drink as much as they like.
Copious amounts of alcohol are one of the distinguishing features of the celebration. Every year stories of uninhibited behavior emerge from Bonenkai celebrations, providing for incredulous recounting of the incidents throughout the following year.
In anticipation of the parties there are many police on the roads doing spot checks for drinking and driving.
Food, drink and uninhibited behavior are not the only attractions of the Bonenkai. There is often karaoke, giving colleagues further opportunities for un-office like interaction to set the mood of hilarity which is the one essential ingredient of the Bonekai. Kampai!
