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Japanese New Year Quiz: Questions and Answers

Oshogatsu, the Japanese New Year, is full of things a quiz can ask about: the money children receive, the decorations at the door, a dish for every wish, and a lucky first dream. Here are 24 questions with answers in four rounds: easy ones for kids, osechi (the special New Year food packed in boxes), New Year customs and words, and New Year's Eve in Japan and around the world. They work for a Japanese class, a school assembly before the winter break, or a family gathering.

October 14, 20267 min read

Every question is multiple choice with the correct answer marked. The first round suits young kids; the osechi and customs rounds are good for older kids and adults. Read them out, print them, or play them live.

1

Make the quiz

Create a free account, choose Generate with AI and type "Japanese New Year quiz for 10-year-olds, 12 questions". Or copy the questions below into your own quiz and keep the rounds you like.

2

Press Start game

A PIN appears on screen. Players open sheelon.me/join on any phone, tablet or laptop and type it in. No app and no accounts for players.

3

Play at your own pace

You decide when each question starts. The leaderboard updates after every answer, so the last round decides the winner.

Easy New Year questions for kids

Six easy questions

What is the money children receive at New Year called?

OtoshidamaOkozukaiOsaisenOdachin

Which New Year decoration, placed at the front door, is made of pine and bamboo?

ShimekazariKadomatsuKagami mochiKumade

Which fruit traditionally sits on top of kagami mochi, the stacked New Year rice cakes?

An appleA grapeA daidai orangeA strawberry

What is the first sunrise of the year called?

HatsuyumeKakizomeHatsugamaHatsuhinode

What is the first visit of the year to a shrine or temple called?

HatsumodeOmiyamairiShichigosanOhakamairi

Which animal of the zodiac stands for 2027?

The horseThe sheepThe monkeyThe rooster

Osechi food and what it means

Six questions on osechi

Sweet black beans (kuromame) carry a pun on "mame". Which wish does the pun express?

To work hard and stay healthyTo have many childrenTo do well in studiesTo become rich

Kazunoko, a New Year dish, is the roe of which fish?

SalmonCodHerringFlying fish

Why is shrimp part of osechi?

It was the shogun's favorite foodIt is the cheapest seafood in winterIt swims backwards, so the year goes backTo live until your back is bent like a shrimp's

Kombu (kelp) rolls are a pun on which happy Japanese word?

Yorokobu (to rejoice)Mame (healthy)Medetai (joyous)Fuku (luck)

Tazukuri, also called gomame, is made from which small dried fish?

SauryHorse mackerelJapanese anchovySmelt

Which rice porridge is eaten on January 7?

Red bean porridgeEgg porridgePlain white porridgeSeven-herb porridge (nanakusa-gayu)

Almost every osechi dish is a wish or a pun. Black beans are mame, which also means hard-working and healthy; kombu (also read kobu) sounds like the end of yorokobu, to rejoice; and the bent back of a shrimp stands for a long life.

New Year customs and words

Six questions on customs

What does the character 旦 in 元旦 (gantan) show?

The full moonThe sun rising over the horizonA snowy mountainA temple bell

"First Fuji, second a hawk..." What is third in the luckiest first dream of the year?

A craneA turtleAn eggplantA carp

At kagami biraki, the day the New Year rice cakes are broken up and eaten, why do people say the mochi is "opened" rather than "split"?

The mochi is too soft to splitIt is an old Kyoto dialect wordShrines ask people to say it"Split" is an unlucky word to avoid

On which day is kakizome, the first calligraphy of the year, traditionally done?

January 1January 2January 7January 15

In hanetsuki, the New Year battledore game, what happens to a player who misses?

Their face is marked with inkThey must sing a songThey give away a coinThey sit out the next round

What do players do in fukuwarai, a New Year party game?

Spin tops on a drumFly kites in the parkPlace eyes, nose and mouth on a face while blindfoldedPick poem cards from the floor

The 旦 question catches adults too. The character is a sun (日) above a line for the horizon, which is why 元旦 means the morning of New Year's Day, while 元日 is the whole day.

New Year's Eve and New Year around the world

Six harder questions

How many times are temple bells rung on New Year's Eve (joya no kane)?

1288108365

What is the best-known reason for eating toshikoshi soba on New Year's Eve?

To live a long life, thin and long like the noodlesSoba is at its best in winterRice may not be eaten that nightIt is the cheapest meal of the year

From which era has Japan celebrated New Year on January 1 of the solar calendar?

EdoMeijiTaishoShowa

What is the Lunar New Year called in China?

The Mid-Autumn FestivalThe Dragon Boat FestivalThe Lantern FestivalThe Spring Festival

In Spain, what do people eat at midnight, one for each chime of the clock?

Twelve grapesTwelve olivesTwelve almondsTwelve cherries

What is the Scottish New Year's Eve celebration called?

BeltaneBurns NightHogmanayCeilidh

108 is the number of worldly desires in Buddhist teaching, and each strike of the bell is said to clear one away. The last strike usually falls just after midnight.

Tips for a New Year quiz that works

  • Start with the kids' round. Children in Japan all know otoshidama, so the room warms up before the osechi questions.
  • Bring the food. If there is osechi on the table, ask the osechi round while people eat and point at each dish.
  • Make it a team game for seniors. At a care home, read each question aloud and let each table answer together on one tablet.
  • Leave time after each answer. The short explanation after every question is where people learn the 旦 fact they will repeat all year.

How do I turn these questions into a quiz?

Create a free Sheelon account, choose Generate with AI and type something like "Japanese New Year quiz, 12 questions, for kids". You get a full quiz with an explanation after each answer in about a minute. You can also type these questions in yourself and keep only the rounds you want.

Are these questions good for kids?

The first round is written for primary school kids. The osechi and customs rounds suit older kids and adults, and the last round works best with adults.

How many people can play?

Up to 50 players per game on the free plan, and up to 150 on Pro. Players never need an account, only the PIN.

Can I make the quiz in Japanese?

Yes. Sheelon writes quizzes in 30 languages, including Japanese, so you can ask for a New Year quiz in Japanese or in English. The free plan includes 5 AI quizzes in total.

Make your New Year quiz with AI

Type a topic, get a full quiz with explanations, then host it live. Players join with a PIN from any phone.

Make a New Year quiz

Free account. Players don't need one.

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