Photo/Illutration Fences are set up around the iconic statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog, in front of Shibuya Station, where authorities are calling on the public to refrain from celebrating Halloween on the streets there this year. (Eiji Zakoda)

Japan celebrates numerous festivals and holidays derived from foreign cultures, but none are as undefinable as Halloween.

That is probably because this particular celebration has undergone many transitions over time around the world, not only in Japan.

Halloween is understood to have originated as a seasonal celebration observed by ancient Celts who inhabited regions in and around present-day Ireland.

The holiday today is entirely different from what it was several millennia ago.

In his short story “Clay,” Irish literary great James Joyce (1882-1941) depicted Halloween as a holiday of the common folk.

The protagonist, Maria, is a worker at a rescue mission for wayward women in Dublin. On Halloween one year, she is invited to a family party by a man she nursed as a boy.

Written in 1906, the story tells us about the customs and superstitions of the time.

For instance, Maria participates in a traditional Hallow’s Eve game in which blindfolded players pick objects placed in saucers, such as a ring, water and clay--symbolizing, respectively, marriage, immigration and death.

And one indispensable Halloween food was plum cake, which was served at the rescue mission where Maria works.

In Joyce’s story, there are no pumpkins and no revelers in costumes. The atmosphere is tranquil and a tad ominous. Symbols of death, witches and fire are in abundance. I still marvel at how much Halloween has changed in just a little over a century.

On the ancient Celtic calendar, the first day of November was the start of winter and the “new year.”

And the wall separating life and death was broken on the eve of Nov. 1, bringing back the dead and one’s long-gone ancestors, according to “Keruto Saisei no Shiso” (The Celtic philosophy of regeneration) by Mayumi Tsuruoka.

The solemn night has been turned into a popular global holiday by the film industry and other commercial interests.

In Japan, where the history of Halloween is still short, how will it transform in the years to come?

I wondered about this as I ambled through Tokyo’s Shibuya district, where the iconic statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog, was draped in a white sheet.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 31

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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