Observed by Japan Date Third Monday in July 2017 date July 17 (2017-07-17) | Type National 2016 date July 18 (2016-07-18) | |
Significance Honors the blessings of the oceans and economic prosperity of maritime Japan | ||
Marine Day (海の日, Umi no Hi), also known as "Ocean Day" or "Sea Day", is a Japanese national holiday celebrated on the third Monday in July. The purpose of the holiday is to give thanks to the ocean's bounty and to consider the importance of the ocean to Japan as an island nation. Many people take advantage of the holiday and summer weather to take a beach trip. Other ocean-related festivities are observed as well.
History
The day was known as Marine Memorial Day (海の記念日, umi no kinen bi) until 1996. Communications Minister Shozo Murata designated the day in 1941 to commemorate the Meiji Emperor and his 1876 voyage in the Meiji Maru, an iron steamship constructed in Scotland in 1874. The voyage included a trip around the Tōhoku region, embarking on a lighthouse boat in Aomori, and a brief stop in Hakodate before returning to Yokohama on July 20 of that year. However, it was not designated a national holiday until 1995, when it became the first holiday in the summer months.
First observed on July 20, 1996, the Happy Monday System (ハッピーマンデー制度, Happī Mandē Seido) legislation moved the date to the third Monday of July beginning in 2003.