Summer allowance - Kakiteate

…When referring to wages, it usually means a special dividend, which is generally paid when a certain level of productivity is achieved. On the other hand, in Japan, there is a wage custom of paying a lump sum in addition to monthly wages at the end of the year or at the end of the fiscal year. This is called a bonus, summer allowance, year-end allowance, or end-of-year allowance, but its nature is significantly different from that of bonuses in the West. Historically, it is said to have originated from the custom of paying "shikise" (outfits) at the end of the year or at the end of the fiscal year during the feudal era to merchants and craftsmen, but its direct beginning was the bonus system of Mitsubishi Corporation in 1876, and it is said to have spread mainly to large companies since then. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "summer allowance" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…通常，賃金についていわれるときは，特別に支払われる配当を意味し，一般に一定水準以上の生産能率をあげた場合に支給される。一方，日本には盆暮，期末などに毎月の賃金とは別に一時金が支給される賃金慣行があり，これを賞与，ボーナス，一時金，夏季手当，年末手当，期末手当などと呼んでいるが，その性格は欧米のボーナスとは著しく異なる。沿革的には，封建時代に商人社会や職人社会で盆暮に支給されていた〈お仕着（しきせ）〉の慣習が起源といわれるが，直接の始まりは1876年の三菱商事の賞与制度で，以後大企業を中心に普及したとされる。…

※「夏季手当」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報