A day for the cool / handsome Dads

Ikumen is a portmanteau of ikuji (childcare) and ikemen (a good-looking, handsome, or cool man). October 19th annually is Ikumen Day. "Ikumen Day" is a day to promote the role of the father in child rearing and to encourage men's childcare leave. The date is a pun on 10/19, the ten (10) for  "Tousan", which means father, and nineteen (19) for "Ikuji" which means childcare.

The anniversary was established by the "Ikumen of the year" executive committee. "Ikumen of the year" committee used to choose winning public figure "cool Dads" on this date and announce them publicly. They haven't done it in recent years. The term was reportedly coined in 2000, by an ad company, but it was made more famous when the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare launched the national Ikumen Project in 2010 to encourage a society where Dads actively enjoy childcare.

I don't know whatever happened to the Ikumen Project, but you still hear the term "ikumen" being thrown around. Know any "ikumen"? I have to shout out to my husband who is the most "ikumen" Japanese person I've ever known. And to one of my children's teachers, Y-sensei, who is the only man I have ever known in Japan to take Childcare Leave. He took it for a whole year after his second child was born. Happy Ikumen Day to you!