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Shichi-Go-San Matsuri (“Seven-Five-Three Festival”)

On November 15 is Shichi-go-san in Japan – a day that is a rite of passage for young children, focused on celebrating their good health and longevity. Shichi-go-san literally translates as “Seven-Five-Three,” and it includes traditions and celebrations for boys aged three and five, and for girls aged three and seven. In Japanese numerology, odd numbers are lucky numbers. Traditionally, parents allowed children to start growing their hair at the age of three; boys first wore “hakama” — a traditional covering for the lower body — in public at age five; and girls first tied their kimono with an “obi” sash, instead of a cord, at age seven.

In many regions, three- and five-year-old boys and three- and seven-year-old girls visit a Shinto shrine with their parents. Most girls wear kimonos when making their Shichi-go-san visit, while boys wear “haori” jackets and hakama trousers, or they wear nice Western-style dresses and suits. It has become common for parents to take formal pictures of their children on this day.

Following the visit, parents generally buy “chitose-ame” — a long, thin, red-and-white-colored candy. The name means “thousand-year candy,” to represent many years of life. The candy comes in a long white paper bag decorated with symbols of longevity such as pine, bamboo, plums, cranes, and tortoises. The candy and the bag are both expressions of parents’ wish that their children lead long, prosperous lives.

Origins of Shichi-Go-San

The festival is said to have started in the Heian period (794-1185) where the nobles celebrated the passage of their children into middle childhood on a lucky day in November. The festival was subsequently set on the fifteenth of that month during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), when Shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa was said to be celebrating the growth of his son, Tokumatsu, on that day.

By the Edo period (1603-1868), the festival spread to commoners, who began visiting shrines to have prayers offered by priests. The shichi-go-san customs followed today evolved in the Meiji era (1868-1912). November 15 was chosen because it was considered one of the most auspicious days of the year in the Japanese almanac. Since the day is not a national holiday, most families pay their shichi-go-san respects on the weekend just before or just after November 15.

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