Commentary by Hank F. Miller Jr.
Three rituals in one on November 15th celebrating children as they grow up new parents are naturaly pleased and relieved to have their new born arrive safe and sound, but the worries continue, till the age of three, and then on to five…it seems that worring comes with being a parent. Odd numbers are considered significant in certain kind of numerology in Japan.
(The third, fifth and seventh years of a childs life are thus viewed as important periods.)
There is a saying,\”up till seven they\’re in the hands of the gods,\”that expresses the uncertainty associated with the early years of a childs life.People believe the gods alone would determine whether a child would live or die.One such event -7-5-3 was built on just such ideas,and continues today.Girls celebrate when they turn three and again at seven, and boys celebrate at ages three and five.The children are dressed up for a special event, and they make a trip with their parents to a local temple,shirne or church.In some regions, boys make the temple or church visit only when they are five years old.
Basically,these events are based on rituals that traditionally celebrated three steps in the growth of the children.The ceremony for three-year-olds (boys and girls) are granted to grow their longer (having kept it short up to that point). For five-year-old boys,There was a ceremony in which the boys wore a hakama (formal male attire) for the first time.
For seven-year-old girls,there is a aceremony in which they used for the first time a real obi (sash) in place of a string to tie their kimono shut at the waist line.Such practices were first performed in the world at court.they were adopted in military houses,and finally in the populace at large as well.
No discussion of these ceremonies would be complete without mentioning the (chiose ame) it is called 1,000 year candy that is sold on the grounds of temples,(but the candy isn\’t really a 1,000 years old that is sold at the shrines and churches.)
This candy was first sold at a candy shop in Edo (Tokyo) around the middle of the 18th century,the candy is long and thin,colored red and white.The sales peoples,sales pitch is of course,is that the children who eat it will live 1,000 years.
Anyway not only parents worry about the 7-5-3-years of growth as I mentioned at the begining of this commentary,grandparents also worry quite a bit too.
Our grandson Kenji Michael Miller was born in Portland,Oregan on October 14 ,2010, He had to stay in the hospital for awhile.He was born premature but he\’s doing just fine now,we love him so much and he\’s such a cute little guy.
Hank & Keiko Miller.
Note: Hank, (photo), is a former resident of Gloucester City who resides in Kitakyushu City, Japan.
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