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.

admin on August 26th, 2008 | File Under Japanese Culture | No Comments -

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.

admin on August 26th, 2008 | File Under Japanese Culture | No Comments -

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.