THE
FESTIVALS OF SHINTO
Chapter 6: Tango-no-sekku
“Boys’ Day Festival”
Iris – An original
symbol of Boys' Day.
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In late April,
giant carp can be seen flying in the sky all over Japan. From poles large
and small they wave over every house that has at least one boy in the family.
More and more of these beautiful cloth banners appear, some of them extremely
ornate and beautiful, until they are all displayed in time for Boys’ Day
on May 5th.
Boys’ Day, or
Tango-no-Sekku,
is the festival in Japan that celebrates the hopes and ambitions that all
Japanese families have for their male children. It is filled with imagery
and symbols that are masculine in nature and are intended to magically
insure that the boys in the family grow up to be strong, wise and full
of “fighting spirit.” |
| This festival
has an interesting history in that its beginnings are older than many of
the samurai symbols and attitudes that are currently associated with it.
It was agricultural (and thus Shinto) in origin and it apparently became
a popular festival during the Nara Period. This is probably where it first
got the name Tango-no-Sekku. In ancient Japanese, the name refers to a
festival held during a specific period of time in May, a short special
season. Tango-no-Sekku was originally known as the “Feast of the Iris”
and was a festival of for getting rid of sickness and devils. The word
in Japanese for Iris, shobu, is the same as that for success, though
the written characters are different. The iris was an important herbal
medicine in Japan and the fact that it was also a revered masculine fertility
symbol insured that the shobu would be a lasting emblem in Japanese culture.
One of the most important therapeutic uses of iris leaves was (and is)
in the shobu-ya or iris bath. The leaves are placed in very hot
water, usually in quantities enough to cover the surface, than the bather
slowly enters the water and soaks there for as long as possible. Even today
many people swear that it is an invigorating bath that keeps them warm
and healthy long after they have left the water. |
A Samurai
An image of Boys' Day.
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In the early days
of the festival, officials wore wigs of iris leaves and the leaves were
placed under the eaves of houses to protect them and their inhabitants.
The leaves were also chopped up finely and mixed with heated sake. This
drink, known as shobu-shu, later became a favorite of samurai
who considered it a fine tonic designed to help them fight battles. Boys
also used to tie bundles of the leaves together and hit the ground with
them to see who could make the loudest sound!
| During the Tokugawa
Shogunate, the nature of the festival was greatly changed. The “Feast of
the Iris” was combined with other customs and with symbols and ideas of
the samurai tradition to create the festival that is today known as “Boys’
Day.” May was a time of insect damage in the fields and ancient farmers
would use figures of ferocious warriors as well as as koinobori
(carp banners) to frighten away pests from their fields. An apocryphal
story tells of one Tokugawa Shogun who, upon seeing these colorful and
impressive figures in the fields, decided then and there that these images
should be mixed with older traditions to create a festival that would encourage
the martial spirit in young boys. However it happened, Tango-no-Sekku did
indeed become such a festival and the Tokugawa clan did in fact make sure
that it became an annual event for aristocratic boys across the country. |
Koi - symbol of Boys' Day.
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Gogatsu Ningyo.
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Though the original
war-like element of the festival has become somewhat subdued over time,
the symbols and manner in which it is commemorated is much the same today
as it was in the Edo period. Representative images and symbols of martial
power and strength are put on display in the home, often on a tiered display
stand. Some of these items include kabuto or helmets, yoroi
or armor and katana or swords. Accompanying these items will often
be flags, the family’s crest, arrows, drums, miniature carp banners, fans,
various masculine toys and, of course, a vase of blooming irises. Sometimes
there is a samurai or musha doll (or a series of dolls) that wear
the armor, carry the sword and so on. Collectively this “Boys’ Day set”
is called a gogatsu ningyo and is often an heirloom that is passed
down in a family much like Girls’ Day doll sets. The gogatsu ningyo is
often set up in the alcove or tokonoma in the main room of the house,
if the family has one. |
Carp banners became
important in the celebration of the festival around 1772 because people
began to think that a more dramatic outward display would give the festival
greater honor. They are said to represent the overcoming of obstacles with
strength and determination because carp successfully fight their way against
river currents. The custom of flying the tube-like koinobori quickly spread
across the country and today their display is one of the most beautiful
and impressive sights in Japan. Families often fly three carp banners,
a bunch of colored streamers and a pinwheel made of arrow-tails all strung
together on one pole. The red carp represents the mother, the black carp
represents the father and there is often a blue carp for each boy in the
family.
First Boys' Day
with Gogatsu Ningyo
and wearking hakama.
Special Boys' Day sweet.
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There are games
that are associated with Boys’ Day, which, as you can imagine, have to
do with fighting. One of these is called chambara gokko and is simply
“playing war” with wooden swords and paper helmets. These paper helmets,
which resemble the traditional Edo-era samurai helmet, are often made in
kindergartens and elementary schools across Japan as the holiday approaches.
Students also sing several traditional Boys’ Day songs, two of which are
“Koinbori” and “Seikurabe.” The seikurabe is a pole (sei)
that is used to compare (kurabe) height. It is traditional on this
day to line up all the children in the house and mark this pole with their
heights, comparing them against last year's marks and those of each other.
There are several
kinds of food which also go along with Tango-no-Sekku. The aforementioned
shobu-shu sake is still drunk and a special treat made of rice paste covered
with sweet red beans and wrapped in an oak leaf (kashiwa mochi)
is popular. Another common food that is served for dinner at this time
is chimaki, a kind of rice dumpling that is stuffed with various fillings
like mushrooms or nuts and then wrapped in iris or bamboo leaves and steamed.
Another Boys’ Day dinner dish is sekihan, rice steamed with red
beans.
One thing that
makes Boys’ Day different from many other festival days in Japan is that
it is also a national holiday. This holiday, founded in 1945, is called
Kodomo-ni-hi
or Children’s Day. It is set aside as a time when all children, boys and
girls, are to be honored and treasured. Let’s hope that my new son, Forrest,
along with all the other children of the world, will find joy and happiness
this day and every other day!
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