Japan History and Culture

The Seven-Five-Three Festival (Shichi-go-san Matsuri,七五三)

Date: November 15th or on the closest weekend day

Place: All over Japan

Shichi-Go-San literally means “seven five Three”. Odd numbers are considered lucky numbers in Japan.

One of the most important festivals for Japanese children, It is one of three major celebrations in their life. Girls of age three and seven and boys of age only five (though in some families three year old boys also) are celebrated on Shichi-go-san.
Traditionally, On Shichi-go-san the children dress up in special clothes, at the age of seven, a young girl celebrates wearing her first obi, a special sash for tying their kimonos, in a celebration called Obi-toki. While at the age of five a young boy celebrates wearing his first haori jackets and hakama pants ( a special skirt that samurais wear, in a celebration called Hakamagi ) ; in public. The age of three marks the first time that both boys and girls were allowed to let their hair grow. And are taken to a Shinto shrine to give thanks for their health and pray for their good health, growth and happy future free of sickness and misfortune.

The Shinto priest at the shrine performs a purification ceremony and then children are give shitose-ame (thousand year candy) is colored red and white (the colors of luck and celebration), in long bags decorated with turtles and cranes. These are all symbols of longevity in Japan.

Thousand-year candy (chitoseame,千歳飴)

Chitoseame means “thousand-year candy,” is given to children on “Seven-Five-Three” Festival (Shichi-Go-San ).

Chitoseame is shaped like a long thin stick of red and white wheat gluten, which comes in a long white paper bag decorated with symbols of longevity and ensures healthy growth such as pine, bamboo, plums, cranes, and tortoises. Chitoseame and the bag are both expressions of parents’ wish that their children lead long, prosperous lives.

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Floating Ceremony of Paper Hina Dolls (Nagashibina)

Nagashi-bina is an event that involves dispelling impurities and misfortunes by floating dolls away on river or sea.

This was called “Nagashi-bina”.  Because this was done around the time peach flowers bloom, it has come to be called “Momo no Sekku”, but it used to be called “Joshi no Sekku”.

Displaying dolls indoors became a practice quite a while later.

On this day girls and women dedicate dolls to the shrine deity. The dolls are brought to the beach at Kada and floated away on a wooden boat, taking with them all evils and sicknesses that befall women.”

A boatload of dolls ( Nagashbina sets) 

In this rite, dry straw or wood is woven into a boat, which carries a pair of male and female paper dolls to be cast adrift in the river or sea. As it has become quite a rare event, in recent years it has come to attract visitors by the busload.

The Hiyoko Cakes  ( HIYOKO MANJU,ひよこ饅頭)

This is a popular Japanese sweet cake called “Hiyoko”. This special confection can be a good souvenir and gift.  A word “Hiyoko” means chick in Japanese.

The Hiyoko Cakes is a baby chick shaped sponge cake born in 1912 in Iizuka. The sponge cake is a little bit hard and is filled with white sweet bean paste.  People have since loved the pretty shape and the mellow flavor of bean jam in the skin of savory bun. This was ranked in an older ranking.   Actually, before Tokyo Banana, Hiyoko was the most popular souvenir of Tokyo.  People think this is a Tokyo specialty, but originally it comes from Kyushu. They do look very similar. Here is a comparison.  The one on the left is a Fukuoka Hiyoko, while the one on the right is a Tokyo Hiyoko.

Lucky Laugh or Funny Face Game (Fukuwarai)

Fukuwarai is a Japanese traditional game which is usually played during New Year holiday  in Japan. The game can help you to learn directions and parts of the face.

Fukuwarai means “happy laugh.” Fuku means fortune, and warai means laughing, which is also a popular indoor game on the New Years. The game is usually played by children, but adults may sometimes play also. The game is similar to that of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

How to play
 
1. Draw two same pictures of a person’s face.
2. Cut the eyes, eyebrows, nose, ears, and mouth out of one picture.
3. Then one player is blindfolded with a handkerchief or some other type of cloth.
4. The blindfolded player tries to place cutouts of the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and nose on the face, while the other players shout instructions–for example, “Higher!” “To the left!” “There!”
5. After the player places the pieces, the blindfold is removed so the player can view his or her handiwork.
6. Most of the time, the face comes out looking ridiculous, and the players can’t keep from laughing and let the next player take a turn.

Originally, only one style of face was used for the game - a comical, round face of Otafuku. Otafuku is a homely looking woman. Nowadays, other faces are sometimes used, such as those of popular actors and comic book characters or popular anime characters.

Japanese badminton (Hanetsuki)

Hanetsuki is a Japanese traditional game, similar to badminton, played without a net, and is played with a wooden paddle called hagoita and a shuttlecock called hane and is made from colorful feathers. This game is a young girls game that is played at New Years.

The game can be played in two fashions, by one person attempting to keep the shuttlecock aloft as long as possible, or by the two people batting it back and forth. Girls who fail to hit the shuttlecock get marked on the face with India Ink by a stroke of a brush. While the game’s popularity has declined in recent times, beautifully ornamented hagoita are still a popular collection item, it has since become a custom to give a hagoita as a gift to celebrate the birth of a girl.

 The first calligraphic of the New Year (KAKIZOME)             

Kakizome, literally “first writing” is an event for New Year to writefor the first time using a traditional writing brush. This date is traditionally set on January 2nd. Therefore often called “Kitsusho Hajime” (First fortune writing).Elementary schools and junior high schools have kakizome competitions annually.

The Kakizome of writing tools is using black writing ink,special paper called gasenshi (画仙紙) which, at almost 28×85cm, is much larger than the normal monthly works. The standard works are written on hanshi (半紙) which vary in size, but our official size is almost 26×36cm, scrolls, and decorative plaques.

The traditional procedure of Kakizome is making black writing ink with Wakamizu (first laved water of the year) by facing Ehou (the fortunate direction of the year from Oriental Zodiac teachings) then writing auspicious words or poetries such as long life, spring, or perennial youth.

 
Every year on January 5th, it is broadcasted nationwide about 4000 people gather for Kakizome as one of the calligraphy enterprises hosted at Nihon Budo-kan in Tokyo by Nihon Budo-kan Foundation.

Japanese Beckoning Cat (Maneki Neko)

 An old Japanese tradition, the Maneki Neko has become a popular collector’s item all over the globe.

The Maneki Neko (literally “Beckoning Cat”; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money cat or Fortune Cat) is a Japanese sculpture often made of ceramic believed to give good luck to the owner. Often used in businesses– A raised left paw attracts customers while a raised right paw supposedly attracts money. The sculpture depicts a cat beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed in restaurants and shops. The sculpture is based on the Japanese Bobtail cat breed.

Maneki Neko come in different colors, styles, and degrees of ornateness. In addition to sculptures, Maneki Neko can be found as keychai s, piggy banks, air fresheners, and miscellaneous ornaments. 

The Many Varities Of The Maneki Neko. 

Each color of the Maneki Neko  has a different meaning.
 

Tricolor Maneki Neko: The background is white with random black spots ringed with orange. This coloring is considered especially lucky and is the most popular color.

White Maneki Neko: White cats indicate purity and are the second most popular type.

Black Maneki Neko: Black Maneki Neko are believed to keep away evil and are especially popular with women.

 Pink Maneki Neko: A newly popular color, pink Maneki Neko cats are associated with attracting love.

Red Maneki Neko: Red is a protective color and is believed to ward off evil spirits and illness.

 
Gold Maneki Neko: Associated with wealth.

Purple Maneki Neko: Sweet Dreams and is believed to Brings artistic strength.

 

Green Maneki Neko: Believed to bring academic achievement.

Rock Paper Scissors (Jan-ken-pon or Janken)

Jan-ken-pon  is the most popular game among Japanese children and it is  a subset of games played using only the hands, symbolizes both the spirit, theme and the categories of this competition.

The hand in the game

 -“Rock (Gu)” for a fist.

 

 -“Scissors (Paa)” for the index and middle fingers, parted and extended.

-“Paper  (Choki)” for  an open hand

Rules

The exchange is won as determined by the rules:

1. rock breaks scissors

2. scissors cut paper

3. paper wraps rock.

 

Jan Ken Pon Song

A Japanese version of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”
Played with hands behind back until final line.

Japanese Translation:

Jan-Ken-Pon
Jan-ken-pon yo, jan-ken-pon
Jan-ken-pon yo, Goo, cho-ki, pa

English Translation:

Rock, Paper Scissors
Rock, paper, scissors
One, two, three

Japanese Good-luck charm (Omamori)

Omamori are Japanese amulets dedicated to particular Shinto deities as well as Buddhist figures. and the Japanese people believe that omamori is a charm that protects the holder and gives good luck. literally, the word mamori means to “protect” or “defend”, with omamori meaning “honorable protector”. Originally omamori were kept in small bamboo tubes or worn around the neck.

Nowadays Omamori are small pieces of paper or fabric packets or small bags (omamori bukuro) ritually consecrated in the temple. They are typically made with the name of the originating temple on the front and a charm on the back for prosperity, health, travel, or a multitude of other purposes. Generic omamori exist, but most of them cover a single area: health, love, or studies, to name only a few. More recently it has become popular for stores in Japan to feature generic omamori with popular characters such as Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty, Snoopy, Kewpie, etc.

Amulets do not expire, but it is common practice to replace them, usually once a year. Old omamori are usually returned to the shrine or temple to be burned.

Some popular omamori are:

• Kanai Anzen - For good health and help with illness.
• Koutsu Anzen - Protection for drivers and travelers of all sorts.
• Emmusubi - Available for singles and couples to ensure love and marriage.
• Anzan - Protection for pregnant women during term and to ensure a safe and easy delivery.
• Gakugyojoju - for students and scholars.
• Shobaihanjo - Success in business and matters of money.