Shi-Go-San Day

Quite by accident, we stumbled onto a Japanese matsuri, or festival. Our trip started quite innocently. We went to Atsuta-jingo (shrine) in downtown Nagoya. The shrine is a very old, Shinto shrine from the 3rd century. Get this, it’s open 24 hours a day (so far, they all seem to be). Anyway. It is one of the most famous ones in the area and is supposed to house a very special sword handed down to the imperial family by a goddess. Of course, no one can see, but…it’s there. Anyway…the setting is lovely and the buildings are fabulous and the grounds are extensive – a very large Japanese garden with many wonderful paths to explore.
Back to the story. We had had entered the shrine area and purified ourselves by washing our hands at the fountain – there are cups to pour the water over your hands always present. We noticed literally dozens of small children dressed in kimonos (both boys and girls though the styles are different). They were absolutely precious! There were so many of them we figured there had to be something going on. That’s when we found out about 7-5-3 day. Turns out that infant mortality at one time was quite high so when a child reached 3, parents celebrated the milestone (boys and girls). At the age of 5, they celebrated boys and at 7 it was girls again. The children are very serious. They go to the shrine, generally ring a bell, and the family will pray. There are also young girls dressed up who will ring bells around the child to attract the gods and then they’ll pray for health and long life for the child.
We also got to see 2 gorgeous brides all dressed up for their wedding. They were in very traditional kimonos with headpieces and geta shoes. The wedding parties were quite large and everything was very elaborate – and quite difficult since it was pouring rain outside!!! The shrine is a very popular area for weddings also and there are some gorgeous wedding shots to be had around the gardens – when it isn’t raining, of course.