Japanese Archives

Worldview Calendar: Japanese

15 November

15th November 2026

Japanese

Girls of seven, boys of five and girls of three are dressed up in new clothes and taken to a Shinto shrine to pray for their future well-being. As is the case with Hinamatsuri, the family’s care for children and their upbringing is a central aspect of Japanese family life.

As part of the festival, girls are dressed in kimonos while boys wear haori jackets and hakama trousers, for the celebration, and visit the shrine with their families to participate in a Shinto purification ceremony to pray for a long and happy life and to mark their passage into middle childhood. The ages three, five and seven are said to have been chosen as odd numbers are considered auspicious in Japanese numerology.

The custom dates back to the Heian period (794-1185) when child and infant mortality was high. It began amongst court nobles and then spread to the samurai class who added several rituals. During the samurai era, it was customary for children to have their heads shaved at birth. It was kept short until the age of three. The Shichi-go-san festival marked the time when children could start growing their hair, referred to as “kamioki” (literally ‘putting on hair’).

Although this custom is no longer observed, the celebration of the day that marked it is. At the age of three, boys and girls make their first debut at the local shrine wearing traditional Japanese clothes. Then at the age of five, boys celebrate ‘hakamagi-no-ig’, their first time to officially wear ‘hakama’ or formal Japanese pants. And at the age of seven, girls celebrate ‘obitoki-no-gi’ when they wear the traditional ‘obi’ sash to tie their kimono for the first time instead of simple cords. Children get Chitoseame in a bag with a crane and a turtle on it. In Japan these animals are symbols of long life. Chitoseame is wrapped in an edible rice paper so children do not have to bother with removing the wrapping.

23 September

This celebration marks the autumn equinox for Japanese people. As at the spring equinox, harmony and balance are the themes; sutras are recited and the graves of relatives are visited. September 23 is the equinox, the 24-hour period when day and night are the same length, the beginning of Autumn. On this day the sun shines at the equator for 12 hours. On the next day, days begin to become shorter than nights in the Northern Hemisphere.

In the past, the autumnal equinox in Japan was called shuki–koureisai (the autumn festival of the Emperor’s spirits). On this day, the emperor worshipped his ancestors by himself. Nowadays it is called Shuubun-no-hi and is a national holiday. It is the middle day of higan, a seven day period when the people of Japan commemorate their ancestors. Memorial services often take place at Buddhist temples, and many people visit their family’s graves with offerings of rice cakes, flowers, incense sticks, and offer prayers to comfort the spirits of their ancestors. Although Buddhism is common in India and China, these countries have no similar custom.

Higan has Buddhist origins. It literally means the “other side of the river of death”. The two sides of the river represent the worlds of life and death. During these days, Japanese families honour and pray for the repose of their deceased ancestors. This is different from Obon where the spirits of the dead are said to visit the houses of their relatives. At this time of year, living relatives are the ones who visit graves. They clean the tombs and offer prayers and flowers. They also burn incense sticks and offer sweet rice balls called Ohagi.

Higan, for Buddhists, is a good time to focus on the 6 Perfections: Dana (generosity), Sila (virtue), Ksanti (patience), Virya (effort), Dhyana (meditation, also ‘zen’), and Prajna (wisdom). Just as the worlds of death and life are separated by a river, so the Buddhists believe the 6 Perfections will be the bridge to cross from this life to Nirvana.

Worldview Calendar: Japanese

SHICHI-GO-SAN (Seven-Five-Three)

SHUUBUN NO HI

O-BON