Observances built around the household
Not every seasonal event in Japan is a large public festival. Several are small, home-centered occasions linked to the turn of the season or to a child’s growth. They are often observed by families with a shrine visit, a special meal or a few household objects, and they show how the year and the life course are woven together.
Some of these are fixed to a date, and some to a child’s age. Customs differ by region and family, and many are followed in a lighter form than in the past.
Setsubun: the day before spring
Setsubun means “division of seasons.” In the old calendar, it could refer to the day before the start of any of the four seasons, but today it almost always refers to the day before the beginning of spring, usually around February 3. Because the old calendar treated the beginning of spring as a major turning point, the day also had a feel of a year-end, when bad luck had to be cleared out.
The best-known custom is mamemaki, bean scattering. Roasted soybeans are thrown, often from the house entrance, while calling “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi,” roughly “Demons out, good luck in.” One family member, often the father or a child, may wear a demon mask and receive the beans. Afterward, people traditionally eat the number of beans matching their age, and some add one more for the coming year.
Other customs include:
- Holly and sardine. In some regions a sprig of holly with a sardine head is hung at the entrance, based on the belief that the sharp leaves and the smell keep demons away.
- Lucky-direction rolls. A thick sushi roll, eaten whole and silently while facing the year’s lucky direction, is popular in some regions. Its spread across the country is fairly recent and is partly due to marketing by shops.
- Shrine and temple events. Many shrines and temples hold public bean-throwing ceremonies, sometimes with invited guests, performers or local figures.
The demon, or oni, is a figure from folklore. It is not thought of simply as a villain, since regional variations exist, and in a few places the customs even honor it. A lighthearted mood generally prevails, especially with children.
Hinamatsuri: the dolls’ festival
On March 3, families traditionally display hina ningyo, a set of dolls dressed as a court couple and attendants, on stepped platforms. The dolls represent figures in Heian-style court dress, and the display is arranged with small furnishings and offerings. The festival is associated with wishes for girls’ health and happiness. Traditional foods include diamond-shaped rice cakes and a clam soup, and a sweet rice drink is also common.
Dolls are often handed down or given by relatives, and families usually put them away promptly after the festival; a folk belief says that leaving them out too long can delay a daughter’s marriage. This is mostly told as a gentle joke today. The earlier custom involved floating paper figures downstream to carry away misfortune, which still occurs in a few places.
Children’s Day, May 5
Tango no sekku is now a national holiday called Children’s Day, and it celebrates children’s growth and happiness. Families traditionally fly koinobori, carp-shaped streamers, and some display a helmet and other items for boys. The carp is associated with perseverance because of a Chinese story in which carp swim up a waterfall and become dragons. Foods include rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or iris leaves. Some families take a bath scented with iris leaves.
Historically it was more strongly a boys’ festival, and many families still view it that way, but the national holiday is intended for all children.
Miyamairi: a first shrine visit
Around a month after birth, a baby is traditionally taken to a local shrine for a blessing and to be formally introduced to the local deity. Grandparents often attend, and the baby is wrapped in a ceremonial garment. The timing varies by region and by the baby’s sex in traditional practice, and many families adapt the date to the weather and the family’s convenience.
Shichi-Go-San: seven, five, three
Shichi-Go-San literally means “seven-five-three,” and it falls on November 15, though families often visit on a nearby weekend. Children aged three and five, and seven, are dressed in formal clothes and taken to a shrine for thanks and prayers for future health.
The ages are usually described as follows: three-year-old children of both sexes, five-year-old boys and seven-year-old girls, though families differ. The reasons for the ages are linked to older milestones. At three, children were allowed to grow their hair out after earlier head-shaving; at five, boys first wore the hakama, a formal divided skirt; and at seven, girls began to wear an adult-style sash instead of a simple cord. These milestones probably developed among the nobility and warriors and spread to townspeople in the Edo period, though the details are not firmly known.
Children frequently wear kimono for the day, and the types of kimono for girls and boys differ in style and color. Western-style formal clothes are also common. Many families have photographs taken at the shrine or in a studio.
A traditional treat is chitose ame, a long thin candy, often red and white, sold in a bag decorated with auspicious images such as cranes and turtles. The length is meant to suggest a long life. For a general account of what happens when visiting, the article on shrine etiquette covers the usual steps, and omamori charms may also be received. Traditional wagashi sweets are another common gift.
Coming-of-age day
On the second Monday of January, municipalities hold coming-of-age ceremonies for young people who are turning or have turned twenty in the previous year. Many wear their finest clothes, especially furisode for women and suits or hakama for men. Since the legal age of adulthood in Japan was lowered to eighteen in 2022, many local governments have kept the ceremony for twenty-year-olds. The pageantry and group photographs make it a lively public occasion.
Seasonal rites beyond childhood
Other observances mark the course of adult life or the turn of the seasons. Examples include the equinox periods, when families visit graves, and the New Year, described in the article on New Year customs. Special birthdays, including milestone ages in later life, are also marked in some families with colored garments or celebrations. The overview of the yearly calendar places these among the other dates of the year.
Why these days persist
Taken together, these observances have a common character. They are small in scale, they involve preparation by the household, and they use objects, foods and clothing to make an abstract wish concrete. They also show a gentle attitude toward risk: the world is uncertain, so a family takes a moment to ask for protection and then gets on with ordinary life.
Participation is a personal choice, and many families keep only one or two of these days. Whatever form they take, they offer a rhythm that links the year’s turning to a child’s growth.