Boy’s Festival, “Children’s Day”

In Japan, blessed with four seasons that nourish their growth, there are many “seasonal festivals.” These seasonal festivals are customs that were originally brought over from China during the Nara Era (645-794). Those center around the rice harvest and fit well with the rhythm of the Japanese people’s life style, so that the seasonal festivals have set down deep roots as part of the celebration of the season and continue to the present day. In the March issue we introduced the “Hina Matsuri” (Doll Festival) which is a festival held March 3, the “Hina Matsuri” for girls. In this connection, this time we would like to introduce the Boy’s Festival held May 5th.

However, besides January 1st (New Years Day), which is a special case, the 7th, called “Jinjitsu,” was incorporated into the five seasonal festivals. Why was the first of the five seasonal festivals, held on the 7th, called “Jinjitsu”? That was because in olden times in China each of the first six days after New Years Day were devoted to designated animals for the sake of fortune telling. New Years Day was the day of the bird, the 2nd was the day of the dog, the 3rd was the day of the ram, the 4th was the day of the boar, the 5th was the day of the cow and the 6th was the day of the horse, during which fortune telling was conducted and those animals which were the focus were treated specially. And then, the 7th day of the New Year was the day when human beings were the focus of the fortune telling, so human beings were treated specially and it became the festival day called “Jinjitsu” (from the kanji, or Chinese characters, for “jin” or “human being” and “jitsu” or “day”) and that was the origin.

In the present day, the “Children’s Day” is celebrated on May 5th. This is an old custom that has continued from the Nara Era. The May 5th festival is also called the “Tango Festival.” The meaning of the word “tango” is based on “tan” (“edge”) for the beginning of the month, and the day of “go” (“cow” by the Chinese astrological calendar) and was not restricted to the month of May. However, because the sounds of the words “go” (“cow”) and “go” (“five”) are the same, there was an indication for the 5th of the month and eventually the event was passed down as being held on May 5th. During that season, the “shoubu” flower (Japanese iris, also known as the sweet flag) is at the height of its bloom and it is typically used in various forms, so the event is also called the “Shoubu Festival.” From ancient times the shoubu flower was believed to protect one’s health and to have the power to dispel colds. Shoubu flowers were considered what would be called herbs, with use being made of the strong fragrance that came from their leaves. Shoubu flowers were steeped in hot water, shoubu flower sake was drunk and shoubu flower pillows were slept on, among other things, so during the Tango Festival truly full use was made of the shoubu flower on that day.

Words Reverberate, the Boys Festival
Entering the Edo Era, along with the shift of the center of power from the nobles to the samurai, the “shoubu” pronunciation of the flower’s name is the same as that of “shoubu,” or “military spirit,” and in this age in which martial prowess was valued, so the “Tango Festival” became the “Shoubu Festival,” and was avidly celebrated among military families. This annual festival was important as prayers were offered for the safe growth of the male children and the general prosperity of the clan. The March 3rd “Hina Matsuri” (“Doll Festival”), a festival held in honor of girls, was like the blossoming of a flower and in concert with that, the May 5th “Tango Festival” was established as a festival for boys.

Originally, the decorations for the Tango Festival were large flags and military equipment that were displayed hanging on the exterior, but finally in the middle of the Edo Era and from then on, they were miniaturized and most often displayed in the interior. These interior decorations were armor, helmets and dolls in the costumes of the yoroi armor of generals on display, with dolls, swords, bows and the like equipment on display.

In the Edo Era, when the Tango Festival approached, in the entryway to the living rooms of military families there would be things like nobori banners with the crest of the clan, with ancient umajirushi commander’s standards and fukinagashi military streamers hung to honor the martial exploits of their ancestors, while traditionally praying for the success in life of the scions of the families. Seeing that, the residents of the Edo towns got the idea that they would also like to celebrate themselves on a grand scale, but they could not imitate the military families. Therefore, they had to create their own unique decorations and what they came up with were the koi nobori carp banners. In Chinese legend, it was said that if a carp were to successfully surmount the Dragon Gate waterfall in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, it would be transformed into a dragon and ascend to heaven. In addition, the carp was always considered a dignified fish and from olden times it was proverbial that “a carp ascends waterfalls,” so the koi nobori display was imbued with the parents’ wishes to raise healthy children.

For that reason, it may be thought to be the most suitable fish for representing hopes for boys’ success in life. When seeing the carp swimming in the May sky, children are terribly happy, and the koi nobori that was born in Edo rapidly spread throughout the country. In this way, the Tango Festival made way for a phalanx of ascending carp in different places.

At the present time, alongside displays of helmets and the like, for May dolls there are Kintaro dolls, Momotaro dolls, Jimmu Tenno Emperor dolls, Shouki dolls (from Chinese mythology), as well as children dolls in costumes from the kabuki theater and decorative horses. Other than that, there are bows, tachi long swords, military fans, jingasa wooden soldier hats, military drums and other kinds of military equipment, along with signal torches and other forms of camp lighting on display. Finally, as ceremonial offerings there are such things as shoubu flowers in vases, kazari rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and kashiwa mochi (rice cake in oak leaves) for a trio on display. On the left and right there are small scale koi fukinagashi to frame the display.

For the Japanese wagashi pastry served during the Tango Festival, in general there is kazari rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and kashiwa mochi. Eating kashiwa mochi is a uniquely Japanese custom, which carries the widespread lucky image of an oak tree that sprouts young buds while retaining old leaves, meaning that “the family line will not die out.” Kazari rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and kashiwa mochi may be purchased at the Japanese wagashi pastry shop, Mikawa-ya, in Little Tokyo and in the South Bay, so please try them and see what you think.