[Erwin Miyasaka]: Japanese May Celebrations

May in Japan is the month in which "Kodomo no hi" (kids), or children's day takes place. Currently, the party is for children of both sexes, but originally it was only for boys.

 

The celebration is specifically the five of May. This festival has a Chinese origin and was developed as a purification ritual as it was believed that the fifth month of the year was bad and that the fifth day of May was particularly adverse. Other names that this month received was "the month of the rains" (although today this is truer in June, really) or sanaezuki, "the month of rice seedlings."

 

It is not known for sure when this festival began for children in Japan, but it is known that it was during the Nara period when the fifth day of the fifth month became the date chosen. However, it was not until 1948 that 5 May was declared a national holiday to celebrate the health and growth of all children and also express gratitude to the mothers.

 

In the interior of the houses, the families with children place a set of dolls, in which are represented feudal warriors, protagonists of children's stories like Kintaro, the childhood name of Sakata no Kintoki, a hero of the Heian period, Momotaro, and the Chinese deities, as well as miniatures of Japanese armor and helmets. This set is called May dolls. In the heyday of the samurai, helmets and armor were specially decorated on this day for young men who went to war, as they were considered as the most important instruments in battle and thus, they were supposed to infuse them courage.

On the other hand, and outside the houses, banners are hung in the form of koinobori carpa to wish children luck in their future. The carpa fish represent the strength since the Japanese admire the skill of this fish to raise the rivers against the force of the water.