Fukubukuro
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese New Year's Day
custom where merchants make grab bag
s filled with unknown random contents and sell them for a substantial discount, usually 50% or more off the list price of the items contained within. The low prices are usually done to attract customers to shop at that store during the new year.
The term is formed from Japanese fuku (福, good fortune/luck) and fukuro (袋, bag). The change of fukuro to bukuro is the phenomenon known as rendaku
.
Fukubukuro usually are snapped up quickly by eager customers, with some stores having long lines snake around city blocks hours before the store opens on New Year's Day. Formerly, Fukubukuro were an easy way for stores to unload excess and unwanted merchandise from the previous year, due to a Japanese superstition
that one must not start the New Year with unwanted trash from the previous year and start clean. Nowadays, Fukubukuro are pushed as a lavish New Year's event rather than a way for stores to get rid of excess merchandise.
Matsuya Department Store in late Meiji period
and has since spread to most retailers. The custom has spread to other cultures; for example, in the Honolulu
shopping center Ala Moana Center
, several stores adopted in this tradition in 2004. Many Sanrio
Stores in the United States
often adopt this tradition as well. For the opening of the Apple Store in San Francisco in 2004, $250 "lucky bags" were offered containing a mix of software, audio accessories, and an iPod in randomly selected bags.
s, grab bags are usually themed to specific departments (e.g. a young adult section of the store would have Fukubukuro with trendy merchandise, the shoe section would have several high priced shoes in the bag, etc.). In other stores (especially smaller stores), many Fukubukuro are often filled with items that relate to the store or think kindly of the customers needs (e.g. a tea store would offer Fukubukuro in a tea crate with bags of tea, tea cups, and blankets). Many stores often include extra items, such as expensive purses
(sometimes worth well into the tens of millions of yen
), tickets to far away places, even fur coats and vouchers for expensive electronics to entice shoppers to take a chance and shop at their store. The randomness of such inserts is a reason why Fukubukuro are sometimes known as "Good Luck Bags" or "Lucky Bags."
Fukubukuro come at a variety of different prices. Most bags are priced ranging from a few hundred to a few 10,000 yen (1–100 USD). However, every year there are also a few extremely expensive fukubukuro available. In 2006, the most expensive Fukubukuro was priced at 200.6 million yen ( 1.7 million USD) from a Ginza
Jewelry store, another set of bags was priced at Mitsukoshi at 150 million yen apiece (1.2 million USD).
Japanese New Year
The is one of the most important annual festivals, with its own unique customs, and has been celebrated for centuries. Due to the importance of the holiday and the preparations required, the preceding days are quite busy, particularly the day before, known as Ōmisoka.The Japanese New Year has been...
custom where merchants make grab bag
Grab bag
Grab bag may mean* Bug-out bag or Survival kit, a portable collection of emergency supplies* Party favor gift bags* Pot-Pourri * Walkers slightly larger than normal packet of crisps.* The theme song of Duke Nukem 3D...
s filled with unknown random contents and sell them for a substantial discount, usually 50% or more off the list price of the items contained within. The low prices are usually done to attract customers to shop at that store during the new year.
The term is formed from Japanese fuku (福, good fortune/luck) and fukuro (袋, bag). The change of fukuro to bukuro is the phenomenon known as rendaku
Rendaku
is a phenomenon in Japanese morphophonology that governs the voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word...
.
Fukubukuro usually are snapped up quickly by eager customers, with some stores having long lines snake around city blocks hours before the store opens on New Year's Day. Formerly, Fukubukuro were an easy way for stores to unload excess and unwanted merchandise from the previous year, due to a Japanese superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
that one must not start the New Year with unwanted trash from the previous year and start clean. Nowadays, Fukubukuro are pushed as a lavish New Year's event rather than a way for stores to get rid of excess merchandise.
History
Fukubukuro was invented by GinzaGinza
is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
Matsuya Department Store in late Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
and has since spread to most retailers. The custom has spread to other cultures; for example, in the Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
shopping center Ala Moana Center
Ala Moana Center
Ala Moana Center in Honolulu is the largest shopping mall in Hawaii, the fifteenth largest shopping mall in the United States, and the largest open-air shopping center in the world....
, several stores adopted in this tradition in 2004. Many Sanrio
Sanrio
is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan...
Stores in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
often adopt this tradition as well. For the opening of the Apple Store in San Francisco in 2004, $250 "lucky bags" were offered containing a mix of software, audio accessories, and an iPod in randomly selected bags.
Contents
Depending on the business, merchants plan out what will go into these grab bags and what the selling price will be months in advance. In major department storeDepartment store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s, grab bags are usually themed to specific departments (e.g. a young adult section of the store would have Fukubukuro with trendy merchandise, the shoe section would have several high priced shoes in the bag, etc.). In other stores (especially smaller stores), many Fukubukuro are often filled with items that relate to the store or think kindly of the customers needs (e.g. a tea store would offer Fukubukuro in a tea crate with bags of tea, tea cups, and blankets). Many stores often include extra items, such as expensive purses
Handbag
A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....
(sometimes worth well into the tens of millions of yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
), tickets to far away places, even fur coats and vouchers for expensive electronics to entice shoppers to take a chance and shop at their store. The randomness of such inserts is a reason why Fukubukuro are sometimes known as "Good Luck Bags" or "Lucky Bags."
Fukubukuro come at a variety of different prices. Most bags are priced ranging from a few hundred to a few 10,000 yen (1–100 USD). However, every year there are also a few extremely expensive fukubukuro available. In 2006, the most expensive Fukubukuro was priced at 200.6 million yen ( 1.7 million USD) from a Ginza
Ginza
is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
Jewelry store, another set of bags was priced at Mitsukoshi at 150 million yen apiece (1.2 million USD).