Shichi-Go-San November 15

Shichi-go-san is said to have its origins in the Heian period among court nobles who celebrated their children's passage into middle childhood. The ages of three, five and seven relate to numerology Japanese. Indeed, according to Japanese numerology, odd numbers bring luck. The custom of celebrating this festival on the fifteenth of the month dates from the Kamakura period.

Over time, this tradition was adopted by the samurai class who added some rites to it. At the age of three the custom required shaving the head, leaving hair only on the top of the head. Five-year-old boys could wear the hakama for the first time, as seven-year-old girls replaced the simple strings they used to tie their kimono with the traditional belt. 

À la période Meiji, la pratique a été adoptée par le peuple, depuis un nouveau rite a été ajouté : celui de se rendre avec ses enfants dans un sanctuaire shinto ou dans un temple bouddhiste et prier pour qu’ils grandissent en bonne santé.

The tradition has changed a bit since the Meiji period. The hair ritual has been abandoned; boys aged five and girls aged three or seven are still dressed in kimono for visits to shrines. It is customary for girls aged three to wear the hifu (padded jacket) with their kimono, they wear their hair in a bun and decorated with combs or flowers. Boys wear hakama and the haori (jacket falling on the hakama). 

Rarely, some children wear Western clothes. Photography, although not existing at the start of this celebration, today sanctifies this unique moment which is the pride of the family who will princely display it in the house¹.

THE chitose soul “thousand-year-old candy” are given to children. Chitose soul is a long, thin, red and white candy, which symbolizes healthy growth and longevity. It is given in a bag on which a crane and a turtle are drawn, animals symbolizing for Japanese longevity, life expectancy.