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Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day)

Kodomo no Hi is one of Japan's major national holidays. It occurs annually on May 5th and is the final holiday in Golden Week, a seven-day period during which there are four national holidays. By far the oldest, Children's Day was originally called  Tango no sekku or Boys' Day. It has been celebrated since the Kamakura Period (1185–1333). The day is also associated with military prowess. Its scope was broadened to include all children in 1948. Major festivals are held that day.

One of the most significant ways that families celebrate Kodomo no Hi is by displaying carp streamers (koinobori) on poles.

At the top of the pole are a pair of yaguruma or spinning vanes, accompanied by a windsock. Below that are the koinobori (carp streamers) representing members of the family. At the top is the father carp (black), followed by the mother carp (red), and then one koinobori for each child in various other colors. The carp (koi) symbolism comes from the strength that carp display when swimming upstream.

It isn't just families that get involved. Many whole communities display masses of koinobori. This photo is a minor example.

There many other ways that Kodomo no Hi is celebrated. One is to bathe in a hot tub with floating iris leaves. Special foods are always popular. 

This plate holds kashiwa mochi & chimaki. The kashiwa mochi are the white objects in the foreground, made of sweet rice with sweet red beans inside, all wrapped with oak leaves. The chimaki are the bamboo-leaf wrapped objects in the background. They are usually filled with sweet rice and beans, and sometimes other things.

Another way to celebrate is to set up displays of various objects, generally called gogatsu ningyō (literally: May dolls). Though ningyō (dolls) is part of the name, they aren't always part of the display. The practice began, when around the same time of the year as Tango no sekku was being celebrated, armor and weapons needed to be brought out of storage and prepared for possible use. Readied armor on display became part of the Tango no sekku celebration.

Japan's Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day celebration) in March has its Hina dolls--tiered ranks of the Japanese aristocracy with the Emperor and Empress on top.

Though gogatsu ningyō displays for Kodomo no Hi don't always have dolls, they very often do and are highly valued. They are this week's painting subject.

Musha Ningyō (Warrior Dolls)

Early in the Edo period (1603 - 1868), dolls became part of gogatsu ningyō displays. Rather than many dolls in a ranked display like Hina dolls. Musha ningyō are usually single figures or sometimes part of a small grouping. They are often historical figures like this doll representing Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537 – 1598) Japan's great unifying general after a century of civil war.

Many musha ningyō are generic warriors of various sorts. This one has a huge sword. It was made in 1880.

This fellow is obviously an archer.

Here is a mounted samurai and horse attendant.

Not all musha ningyō look like they are ready to rush into battle. This fellow must have been pretty good because he has survived into old age and seems ready to retire.

Another old man is part of the pair below. In this case the old man and woman are figures out of legend.

The female figure represents Jingū, a woman who is said to have ruled part of Japan as empress after her husband's death, supposedly about 200 AD. Legend says she led an invasion of the Korean peninsula. She is wearing armor and carries a sword and bow. The other figure is Takenouchi no Sukune, Jingū's Grand Minister. He led the Korean invasion with Jingū and is said to have served under five Emperors in addition to Jingū.

The group below features Momotarō, the peach boy, and his three companions; Monkey, Dog, and Pheasant. Momotarō is a figure out of folklore. He was born out of a giant peach and was raised by an elderly childless couple. He was immensely strong. After a few years, he set off to put an end to raids the land was suffering from monsters crossing over from Demon Island. On his way, he befriended the three animal companions. The combined talents of the four led them to victory and peace for the land.

China had made its share of contributions to Japanese folklore. The legend of Shoki is one of them. The Chinese emperor Xuanxong in the 8th century had a nightmare in which he saw demons pillaging his palace and stealing his treasures. Suddenly a giant man with a sword appeared and vanquished the demons. When the emperor woke, he had his court painter produce a picture from his description. The giant's Japanese name is Shoki. His image is used as a protective talisman.

Artwork

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798 – 1861) 

Kuniyoshi was one of the last great ukiyo-e masters of the Edo Period (1603 - 1868). His subjects were wide-ranging, from landscapes, bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful people), kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He also liked to do legendary battle scenes. The 1855 print below is a scene from the legend of Momotarō, discussed above. He and his animal companions have captured a demon.

Keishu Takeuchi (1861 - 1942)

Born into a samurai family, Keishu had no formal art training before becoming accepted as a student by an ukiyo-e master. His beginning as a professional was as a porcelain painter. He gradually drifted in illustrations, and was known for producing cover art for periodicals. This print was produced in the 1900 to 1910 time frame. The koinobori shows that this is a Tango no Sekko scene.

Miyagawa Shuntei (1873 - 1914)

Little is known about Shuntei's life other than that he studied art under two masters. He was primarily active from 1895 to 1907 as another illustrator of periodical cover art. He specialized in scenes of children at play and women in leisure activities. The 1895 print below illustrates another Tango no Sekku scene. The poll outside suggests that koinobori may be on display at the top. More importantly, note the gogatsu ningyō in the background to the right with a musha ningyō.