Japundit has a nice post on Valentine’s day in Japan, the possible origin, and where it’s at today.

What I’ve heard but can’t confirm from any reliable source, is that the company who introduced Valentine’s Day in 1958 first tried to market it as it is in western countries, but apparently failed in their effort, as men wouldn’t buy chocolate for the object of their love.

Maybe if they had proposed purchase of akafuku-mochi things would be different? My guess is no. If a Japanese man isn’t going to buy his woman a fancy box of confections, what would he buy? Probably not bean-covered rice cakes, even if they are super tasty with green tea. On the other hand, apparently Japanese women have no problem buying into this holiday. In Japan, women purchase gifts for men on Valentine’s day. Evidence of this cultural phenomenon (via kotaku) consists of video game themed chocolates.

I don’t think I consider myself a Valentine’s Grinch, but I guess I’ve always been ambivalent. If you don’t have a Valentine, there’s really very little to celebrate. If you do have a Valentine, you can celebrate, but what are you really celebrating? Love? Companionship? Shouldn’t we celebrate that every day?

On a related note, the term Japanese use when describing the gift of Valentine’s chocolate from one woman to another (very common) is pronounced lezzie choco.