I'm really late for a Valentine's post, but it's still a topic that is relatively interesting for people outside of Japan. It seems that many people already know at least a little bit about Japanese Valentine's, but here's some information that I've gathered by observation and through research.
In the West, Valentine's is the man's day to woo and put in work for the woman. The stereotypical Valentine's day is a dinner and a movie, with flowers and chocolate accompanying the night, isn't it? Of course there are other things involved and it depends on the couple, but most of the effort usually comes from the man's side of the relationship. It's 2020 now, so it's probably culturally inappropriate for it to be labelled as "the man's" side, but at least here in Japan it's a fairly prominent distinction.
Here in Japan, it's the woman that does most of the giving on this day. Chocolates are the main gift here, and there are two main types: giri choco and honmei choco. The former is the "obligation" chocolate; these chocolates are given as a sign of appreciation for the platonic or professional connection. These chocolates are usually on the cheaper end of the scale, but can be higher quality depending on what the giver's budget, and they do have a diplomatic, if not friendly, feeling to them.
The latter is the more serious one. If a man gets honmei choco it's a sign of romantic interest. I think my girlfriend would be pleased to know that I only got one set, and it's from her. These chocolates are either on expensive side or handmade using special molds sold in many stores. During the Valentine's season, cheaper chocolates will end up being sold out because of this.
There's two other, lesser classifications. The third type of chocolate classification: tomo choco. This type of chocolate is given to friends of he woman, both male and female, and really popular with girls that are really close to their female friends. I see this kind of chocolate passed around by my kid students in my classes a lot. I've heard that this kind of chocolate can be made with their friends and eaten on the spot, but since my kids are around kindergarten age, they usually give out cheaper chocolates with cute characters on the wrappers.
Then there's the fourth classification, the one that probably no-one really wants. This is cho-giri choco. This chocolate is strictly obligatory and given to people that the giver really doesn't want to give to. The recipient is someone that isn't necessarily known well, or even liked. Hopefully I didn't get one this season, but I'm not familiar enough with this chocolate culture to differentiate.
Now this is actually only half of the equation. Valentine's Day is the woman's half, and a month later is White Day, the man's half. March 14th is the man's turn to reciprocate by giving back gifts. Popular gifts include white chocolate, jewelry, cookies, or other white-coloured sweets. These gifts are sometimes meant to be three times the value of what I was given, so I have my work cut out for me in a month's time.
Thanks for reading!
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