Shichi Go San

Shichi Go San(七五三:The Seven-Five-Three Festival) is a traditional event to celebrate children's growth and pray for their future good health. It comes from the ancient three events including obitoki(帯解), hakamagi(袴着) and kamioki(髪置) held on the 15th day of the 11th month in the early Edo Period.

Now we can see boys and girls in formal dress such as kimono taken by parents to a shrine around November 15th.


Kamioki(髪置) was a event that 3-year-old girls (and boys in many areas) grew their hair out from this day.
The girls tie flat sash attached to kimono instead of obi.
Now 3-year-old girls wear hifu(被布) on kimono at Shichi Go San. Originally, hifu was a kind of jackets that is put on over kimono for men.

Tanmono (roll of cloth) for kimono is normally about 36 centimeters wide and about 11 meters long. Generally, kimono for kids 3 and under have one back body piece and kimono for children over 3 years and adults have two back body pieces.

Hakamagi(袴着) was a custom done by the families of warriors for 5-year-old boys.  They wear kimono, formal men's divided skirt called hakama(袴) and a coat called haori(羽織).



Obitoki(帯解) was a custom done by the families of commoners for 7-year-old girls. From this day, they started to put on obi(sash) in place of cloth bands.

kimono, gold-brocaded obi (帯, kimono sash), pink tie-dyed obiage (帯揚げ, obi sash), pink obijime (帯締め, decorative string used to hold a kimono sash in place), red shigokiobi(しごき帯, soft cloth sash)

The bottom of kimonos used to drag along the ground. Shigokiobi was used to adjust their length when women went out in the Edo Period. Now it's used in an ornamental fashion.
In addition, hakoseko(筥迫) is tucked between collars. Hakoseko is a take-along box-shaped purse for women.


七五三のつるし飾り　デザイン・制作　田辺水扇
"hanging ornament for Shichi Go San" designed by Suisen Tanabe

Akira Naito ed.,Shiki-no-Wa-no-Tsurushikazari,(Tokyo:Boutique-Sha,2003),P.4
内藤朗編集,四季の和のつるし飾り,ブティック社,2003,P.21

Jugoya(full moon night)

It's very hot today. Temperatures have reached 33 degrees Celsius in Yokohama and have reached over 35 degrees Celsius in several areas.

Jugoya(十五夜) means the night or the moon on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar(corresponding to September 22nd of this year in the Gregorian calendar).
We can see clear full moon tonight. Jupiter is near the moon.

Moon Viewing on this day derives from the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, but we celebrate another moon viewing named Jusanya(十三夜) on the the 13th day of the 9th month in the lunar calendar. The event is unique to Japan and is also called Mame-meigetsu(豆名月, bean harvest moon）or Kuri-meigetsu(栗名月, chestnut harvest moon).

Jugoya is also called Imomeigetsu (芋名月) or "Potato harvest moon", so these confections contain potatoes.

Potato Manju(ぽてと饅頭):

confection using potato

Oimosan(おいもさん):

confection using sweet potato

Usagi Manju(うさぎ饅頭: rabbit-shaped steamed buns filled with bean paste)

"Where do rabbits live, earth, moon or sun?"
A guest had to answer the question within five seconds on a TV quiz program.  He said, "Moon!"
Of course, answer to the quiz is earth, but rabbits are strongly connected to the moon in Japan. We see rabbit pounding steamed rice on the moon surface.

It comes from an Indian mythology. A rabbit without having a specialty was not able to do good for an old man, so it gave the meat of itself to him by drowning itself into the fire. The old man was Taishakuten (帝釈天, Śakra in Sanskrit), and he placed the charred rabbit on the moon surface.

ハートシリーズ　デザイン・制作/石津喜代子
"heart Series" designed by Kiyoko Ishizu

Full moon, Japanese pampas grass and Tsukimi Dango

Nobuaki Seto(ed), Oheya ni Kazaru Wafu no Mini quilt(Tokyo:Nihon Vogue-sha,1994),P.50.
瀬戸信昭編集,お部屋に飾る和布のミニキルト(東京:日本ヴォーグ社,1996年),P.50.

抱き薄
Daki Susuki (Japanese pampas grass )

対い兎
Mukai Usagi




下中菜穂,「切り紙　もんきり遊び」,株式会社宝島社,2007年,P.7,12
Nabo Shimonaka, Kirigami Monkiri-asobi,(Tokyo:TAKARAJIMASHA,Inc.,2007),P.7,12

Yukata

Yukata(浴衣) was originally a bathrobe called Yukatabira(湯帷子).
In summer, many young women go out in yukata to enjoy festivals or displays of fireworks. Yukata has become a popular summer fashion.
A variety of yukata including designer-label yukata arrive in stores.
Yukata that resembles kimono are sold now, but yukata is an informal wear like a T-shirt.

In the Edo Period, kabuki actors started to wear yukata of their own designs. The yukata featured bold designs and had a sense of fun. They wore in their backstage rooms and sent tenugui(washcloth) with yukata design to patrons as a service. Their descendants wear the yukata in their backstage rooms.

Yukata are cheaper and easier than kimono. Traditional kimono are usually sewn by hand, but cheap kimono are sewn on a sewing machine.

Most yukata and many kimono sold in Japan are sewn in some Asian countries because of the low labor costs. I heard from a kimono-related worker that Vietnamese seamstresses are good hands, their kimono are made with great care and kimono makers are very pleased with their well-made kimono.

We wear yukata next to the skin like a T-shirt, but we have to wear kimono-like garment under the kimono when wearing kimono. Dress and sleeve length of yukata are a little shorter than that of kimono.

Sewing kimono used to be an important accomplishment for women. My paternal grandmother was good at sewing kimono, so she made me a doll's kimono.

A roll of cloth is cut into some pieces after being marked not with a chalk but with a small clothes iron. We usually sew kimono by hand while taking care not to ruck up cloth, so unstitched pieces of cloth are less-wearing.
When I rucked cloth slightly, a sewing teacher ordered me to start over.

The pieces fit like a jigsaw puzzle, so they are sewn back together when kimono are washed. After the pieces are turned back to a roll of cloth, we wash and stretch it taut by using bamboo.
I heard from my mother that my maternal grandmother used to patch up unstitched pieces of cloth and wash them. Now we rarely bother doing that.

yukata are usually made of cotton and are unlined, so sewing yukata seems to be easier than sewing kimono. I struggled with sewing yukata because I had to get a needle through several layers of a little thick cotton cloth by hand. Especially, I had a hard time sewing the collar part.


タペストリー 100 デザイン:長崎恵里子
"tapestry 100" designed by Eriko Nagasaki

These are children's yukata. When I was a child, I used to attend the bon dance festivals held in my area in yukata.

Rou Naito(ed), Wafu-de-Tsukuru-Komono 105ten（Tokyo：Boutique-sha.co.,2002), p.36
内藤朗編集,「和布で作る小物105てん」(東京:株式会社ブティック社,2002年),P.36

Natsu Matsuri Naniwa kagami

"Natsu Matsuri Naniwa kagami(夏祭浪花鑑)" was written by Namiki Senryu(並木千柳), Miyoshi Syouraku(三好松洛), Takeda Izumo Ⅱ(二代目竹田出雲) and was premiered as a bunraku play in August in 1745, as a kabuki play the following month. It was based on an actual incident that A fish peddler had a fight with a habitual gambler and killed him.

This play is a regular performance in summer, along with "Ise-ondo Koi no Netaba(伊勢音頭恋寝刃)".
The highlight of the play is a scene of a lead character killing his greedy father-in-law because of persistent invective.
With the festival music including the sound of drumbeats and bell jingles, Danshichi kills his father-in-law Giheiji in mud (in kabuki, real muddy water is used) during the summer festival of Kouzu-gu(高津宮) shrine in Osaka.

However, what surprised me most was an action taken by Tokubei's wife, Otatsu(お辰).
Her husband Tokubei(徳兵衛) is yakuza (gangster). When she visits his peer Sabu(三婦), Subu's wife asks her to shelter a young man, Isonojou(磯之丞). But Sabu expresses concerns Isonojou may hook up with Otatsu because she's sexually attractive.
Surprisingly, she holds a red-hot poker against her face by herself and said, "Do you still think I have a sexy look?"

We think that she doesn't need to go to such lengths.
Yakuza were incredibly loyal while being belligerent. They were willing to die for their benefactors. She is the prototype yakuza's wife of modern yakuza movies.

The summer festival of Kouzu-gu is still held on July 17th and 18th every year.










hanten(半纏:traditional short coat as worn at festivals), setta(雪駄:leather-soled sandals), obi(帯:obi sash), hachimaki(鉢巻き:headband) and watermelon.
Hanten is stitched with an embroidery technology called sashiko(刺し子) which has been used for keeping warm and reinforcement of cloth.

ドールハウス（夏祭り）デザイン/石津喜代子
"Dollhouse(summer festival)" designed by Kiyoko Ishizu

Nobuaki Seto(ed), Oheya ni Kazaru Wafu no Mini quilt(Tokyo:Nihon Vogue-sha,1996),P.49.
瀬戸信昭編集,お部屋に飾る和布のミニキルト(東京:日本ヴォーグ社,1996年),P.49.

wind-bells

Most schools has broken for the summer vacation today.

I couldn't sleep well because of sweltering night. Minimum temperature last night was 27 degrees centigrade.

A wind-bells bazaar was held at Kawasaki Daishi(川崎大師), whose formal name is Heikenji Temple(平間寺), from July 17tht to the 21st.

Japanese traditional wind bells include Nanbu Furin(南部風鈴) made of iron in Tohoku (north east area), Edo Furin(江戸風鈴) made of glass in Tokyo.
Myouchin Hibashi furin(明珍火箸風鈴) in Himeji consists of four iron chopsticks, and some musicians including Stevie Wonder used it in their performances.




風鈴 デザイン:戸上和子
"wind-bell" designed by Kazuko Togami

Kazuko Togami, Washi-de-Tsukuru-Etegami 220（Tokyo：Boutique-sha.co.,1999), p.16
戸上和子著,「和紙で作る絵てがみ」(東京:株式会社ブティック社,1999年),P.16









風鈴 デザイン:こもりかつこ
"wind-bell" designed by Katsuko Komori

Katsuko Komori, Hokkori-Kawaii-Otona-no-Wakomono (Tokyo：Boutique-sha.co.,2009), p.21
こもりかつこ著,「ほっこりかわいい大人の和小物」(東京:株式会社ブティック社,2009年),P.21








Nanbu Furin(南部風鈴)

The Iriya Morning Glory Fair

Some areas in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture were subjected to local torrential downpours yesterday. In recent years, well-developed thunderclouds by global heating and urban heat island often caused local torrential downpours accompanied with thunder.
Hot humid weather is continuing. We are disgusted with the damp heat.

The Iriya Morning Glory Fair is held on the grounds of Iriya Kishimojin(入谷鬼子母神) at Taito City in Tokyo from July 6th to 8th. Originally, morning glory seeds were highly prized as Chinese herbal medicines. In the Edo Period, morning glories came to be cultivated as an ornamental plant. Iriya was richly cultivated with the flowers, and many new varieties of them were created.
In the Meiji Period, morning glory fairs were held there.
Although their cultivation disappeared from the area temporarily, the fair was restored after World War II.

"Asagao(朝顔)" is Japanese for "morning glory."
Kengyu-ka(牽牛花) is another name for it. Kengyu(牽牛) means a cowherd. The dates of the fair is based on a Chinese legend that the Cowherd Star(Altair) and the Weaver Star(Vega) can meet once a year on the night of July 7th.

Iriya Kishimojin was founded in 1659 and worships Kishimojin as a Buddhist goddess for easy delivery and child rearing. Originally, Kishimojin was a fierce goddess who abducted and ate the children of others even though she absolutely doted on her 100 children. Buddha made her experience the grief of the bereaved mothers by hiding her youngest child and made her embrace Buddhism.

朝顔に　釣瓶とられて　もらひ水(加賀千代女)
"I tried to draw water from a well in the early morning, but a morning glory vine has locked its well rope. I couldn't bear to cut its vine to draw water, so I asked a neighbor to share her water", written by Kaga no Chiyojo(1703-1775）

朝がほや　一輪深き　淵のいろ(与謝野蕪村)
"A deep blue morning glory is moist with the morning dew, it reminds me of a deep pool", written by Yosa Buson(1716-1784)


Mezamashi-gusa(目覚草):
Mezamashi-gusa is another name for morning glory and it means wake-up flower.