A festival for children of three, five and seven years old 2104/11/15
It is widely spread people’s custom among Japanese families to visit shrines or temples on November 15th to report children’s healthy growth and appreciate for the divine protection from something great. Children wear traditional Japanese style dress and they never forget to take memorial family pictures. Above custom originated from noble’s tradition in Muromachi era, around 500 years ago.
Until recently infant mortality had been very high and it had been always parent’s great concern to raise their children safely. It must have been whole families’ great joy that their children reached to three, five and seven years old.
By the middle of Edo era, around 300 years ago, when people’s living became more stabilized, more parents tried hard not only to raise their children safely but also to educate them including military arts and artistic accomplishments. Consequently the literacy was projected more than 50% which was by far the highest in the world at that time.
Meantime aging population with decreasing birthrate is rapidly growing social concern and current society is ready to give various kinds of benefits to stimulate motivation for having babies. When children are getting rarer, we have to raise them more carefully and intensely. However we should not spoil children. We need to recall the old saying, “spare the rod and spoil the children”.
