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Genpuku (元服) or genbuku was an historical Japanese coming-of-age ceremony. The etymology is atypical; in this case gen (元) means "head" and fuku (服) means "wearing". The ceremony is also known as kakan (加冠), uikōburi (初冠), kanrei (冠礼), shufuku (首服), and hatsu-motoyui (初元結).
To mark the entry to adult life of boys between the ages of 11 and 17 (typically of about age 12), they were taken to the shrines of their patron kami. There they were presented with their first adult clothes, and their boys' hairstyles (角髪 mizura) were changed to the adult style. They were also given new adult names (烏帽子名 eboshi-na).
In Heian times, the ceremony was restricted to the sons of noble and samurai families. During the Muromachi era, it gradually spread to include men of lower ranks.
The equivalent ceremony for women was called mogi (裳着); this was performed for girls aged between 12 and 14, and was similarly based around the presentation of adult clothing.
In modern Japan, these ceremonies have been replaced by annual coming-of-age ceremonies for 20-year-olds of both sexes called seijin shiki, or by a ceremony held in school for students who have turned 15 years of age called a risshi-shiki (立志式), literally "standing hope ceremony" in which children stand in front of the school and declare their goals for the future.
See also
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