Yabuiri -- The Servants' Homecoming Day

What Is Yabuiri?

January 16th marks "Yabuiri," a special day when live-in servants at merchant houses, or women who had married into another family, were once granted leave to return to their childhood homes.

Why January 16th and July 16th?

Yabuiri was traditionally observed twice a year, on the 16th day of the 1st and 7th lunar months, and each date carried its own reasoning.

• Its connection to Koshogatsu and Obon: falling the day after Koshogatsu (the 15th day of the 1st lunar month) and Obon (the 15th day of the 7th lunar month), two important seasonal observances
• Duty at one's workplace first: the timing was chosen so people could first properly take part in the observances at their workplace or the family they'd married into, before returning home to join in their own family's events
• How it spread: originally said to be a day for a new bride to visit her family home, but as cities grew during the Edo period, it became established as a holiday for live-in servants at merchant houses

Why Yabuiri Disappeared

After World War II, as labor practices changed with the strengthening of labor standards laws and a Sunday-based weekly holiday system took hold, the special holiday of yabuiri gradually faded away. Today, its legacy survives in the form of New Year's and Obon holidays.

Tips for Marking This Day

• Learn about the custom of yabuiri and reflect on the lives of servants at the time
• Visit your family home, or reach out to family members living apart from you
• Reflect on the roots of today's New Year's and Obon holidays
• Learn about the lives of servants at merchant houses during the Edo period

A Rare Chance, Granted Only Twice a Year, to Be With Family

For those working as live-in servants, yabuiri was one of the few precious chances to spend time with their family back home. Let January 16th be a day to reflect on the lives of these earlier generations, behind the holidays we now take for granted.