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Japan's Gosekku Festivals

Among Japan's many holidays are five special sacred religious holidays called gosekku (literal meaning: five festivals). Though they have all evolved somewhat, their origins all date back more than a thousand years.

January 7: Nanakusa no Sekku (Festival of Seven Herbs)

This festival was imported from China in the Heian Period (794 - 1185) and was made an official holiday during the Edo Period (1603 - 1868). It isn't one any longer, but many people still celebrate it. The primary way of doing so is to eat a special rice porridge (Nanakusa-gayu) made with seven specific fresh vegetables or herbs intended to bring longevity and health and ward off evil. 

March 3: Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival)

Also known as Jyoshi no Sekku (Girls' Day) and Momo no Sekku (Peach Festival), the festival is a Shintō holiday dedicated to the happiness and prosperity of young women. Special foods are eaten, but the principal activity is the display of dolls arrayed on a tiered platform. Dolls on the top tier represent the emperor and empress. Lower tiers have dolls representing lower ranking aristocrats. Peaches became associated with the holiday because under the old lunar calendar, March 7 is when peach blossoms began to appear. That is no longer the case under the Gregorian calendar, but the association continues. 

May 5: Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day)

This is the only one of the gosekku that is also a government declared public holiday. Originally called Tango no Sekku (Boys' Day), the government changed the name to Kodomo no Hi in 1948 in honor of all children. The traditional way of celebrating the day is still mostly male oriented. Gogatsu Ningyo (May dolls) representing samurai warriors may be put on display in homes. More commonly displayed are model kabuto (military helmets). Often, these are paper origami helmets. Also displayed are koi no bori (carp streamers), one for each male child in a family. These days, koi no bori representing the father and mother are included. Irises are associated with the day because iris leaves resemble swords. 

July 7: Tanabata (Star Festival)

The Star Festival celebrates lovers from Japanese folklore; specifically Orihime (a young female Goddess) and Hikoboshi (a young male God), represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively. A river (the Milky Way Galaxy) separates them so that they can only meet one day each year. In the original story (imported from China), Orihime wove cloth by the side of a river and mourned because she had no opportunity to meet eligible suitors. Her father (the Sky King) arranged for Hikoboshi, a herdsman, to be on the other side of the river on a certain day. The two fell instantly in live and married. But they neglected their duties. In anger, Orihime's father separated the lovers, allowing them to meet only one day each year after their chores were done. The holiday is celebrated by people writing wishes on long strips of paper and hoping that their wishes come true.

September 9: Chōyō no Sekku (Chrysanthemum Festival)

Also known as Kiku no Sekku (same exact meaning as Chōyō no Sekku), this festival is dedicated to the wish for longevity and is celebrated by drinking chrysanthemum sake and eating special foods. It's Chinese origin is based on a story of a disciple whose master had advised him to climb a mountain with his family to bring the master chrysanthemum wine. On his return down the mountain at the end of the day, he discovered that all of his cattle had died. Had he not followed his master's advice, he and his family would all be dead, too. Public celebrations of Chōyō no Sekku often have elaborate displays of chrysanthemums.

Tango no Sekku (Boys' Day)

This week's painting subject is focused on the original version of Children's Day, Tango no Sekku, before Japan's government revised the holiday to include all children.

Tango no Sekku has roots going back at least to the Asuka Period (538 - 710) when tango referred to the horse in the Chinese zodiac. The occasion was originally a day for women to purify the house by thatching roofs with irises to repel evil spirits. That explains an alternate name for the day, Shōbu no Sekku (Iris Festival). The day shifted to the fifth day of the fifth month during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) when the military classes took over Japan. The fifth day was the traditional time for samurai to bring weapons and armor out of storage for maintenance. Setting them out for display was thought to help protect children. The association of the day with Irises was reinforced because iris leaves resembled Japanese sword blades. These are shōbu irises.

The Kamakura Period is also when the focus of Tango no Sekko changed to a celebration of boys and the hope that they would grow up with warrior virtues like virility, strength, and bravery.

During the Edo Period (1603 - 1868), the day became known as Otoko no Sekku, a more literal term for Boys' Day, though Tango no Sekku is what is remembered today. In addition to displaying real weapons and armor, Musha Ningyo (samurai dolls) began to be added to displays. They are also called Gogatsu Ningyo (May dolls).

Along with them were scale model kabuto (helmets). This is one we had for our son.

Soon, paper kabuto were part of displays. This is still common today. The Origami kabuto below is pretty elaborate.

I will lead you in doing a simpler kabuto fold in class. You can see a similar one in unit 13.2.1 Origami Video -- Making a Kabuto. 

Another Tango no Sekku practice that began in the Edo Period is the display of koi no bori (carp streamers) on (traditionally bamboo) poles outside of homes. Koi are symbols of strength, courage, and determination. The photo I showed above was relatively simple. Here is a more complete picture.

Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day)

Many of the ways of celebrating Kodomo no Hi today have been carried over from Tango no Sekku. Many locations put on vast public displays of koi no bori and hold public celebrations. It is part of Japan's Golden Week, a weeklong period in which there are four major holidays ending with Kodomo no Hi.

Traditional foods continue to be served. One of them is kashiwa mochi; sweet rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in oak leaves. Sometimes flavors are added to the rice paste, adding to the color as well as the taste. One of the flavorings is yomogi (mugwart) which gives the mochi a green color.

Another favorite food is chimaki, cone-shaped steamed rice dumpling, wrapped in bamboo leaves. Sometimes sweet red bean paste is embedded inside. 

Artwork

Utagawa Kuninao (1793 - 1854)

The little-known Kuninao produced this ukiyo-e triptych in the 1843 - 1845 time period. It shows troops of enthusiastic boys rushing across Tōkyō's Nihonbashi Bridge during Tango no Sekku. Each has a different facial expression.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

Among the many series of ukiyo-e prints that Hiroshige published is his One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. Number 48 in the series, published in 1857, shows a koi no bori flying over Suidō Bridge and the Surugadai Quarter.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798 – 1861) 

The ukiyo-e portrait below from Kuniyoshi's series, One Hundred Heroic Generals in Battle at Kawanakajima, Shinano Province, shows Honorable General Takeda Sama-no-suke. The provides a good look at the kabuto he is wearing and some of his armor. It was printed in the 1845 to 1846 time period.