May 5 is ‘Tango no sekku’ 端午の節句 (Boys’ Day).
・Decoration and meaning
At homes with sons, we display a samurai warrior doll which is called ‘Gogatsu ningyou 五月人形’.
Recently the armor and the helmet have the meaning of protecting the boys’ body rather than tools for battle.
And we raise a carp-shaped flag called ‘koinobori’ in the garden.
Koinobori for balcony is also sold.
Carps jump over a waterfall. So we raise koinobori and wish for a boy’s vigorous pursuit of success.
In some areas (especially country side) in Japan, a lot of koi nobori are decorated over river as a cerebration for boys.
There are also hanging koinobori decoration made of cloths to decorate inside the room. There are even hanging koinobori with Japanese popular characters.
・Tango no sekku food
On this day, in Kansai area (Western Japan), we eat Chimaki.
In Kanto area (Eastern Japan) people eat Kashiwa mochi.
Chimaki is rice dumplings wrapped in several bamboo leaves. They are steamed before eatings.
Kashiwa mochi is rice cakes with red bean paste filling wrapped in oak leaves.
Children bathe in shobu-yu, a bath with iris roots and leaves, which has medicinal qualities.
Nowadays, Boys’ Day is also Children’s Day, a day to pray for the health, growth and happiness of boys and girls. Click each post's
and share if you like it.
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・Decoration and meaning
At homes with sons, we display a samurai warrior doll which is called ‘Gogatsu ningyou 五月人形’.
And we raise a carp-shaped flag called ‘koinobori’ in the garden.
Koinobori for balcony is also sold.
In some areas (especially country side) in Japan, a lot of koi nobori are decorated over river as a cerebration for boys.
It depends on the area, we also decorate paper tiger (a toy-tiger sways its head from side to side) in especially Kansai area .
On this day, in Kansai area (Western Japan), we eat Chimaki.
Kashiwa mochi is rice cakes with red bean paste filling wrapped in oak leaves.
Children bathe in shobu-yu, a bath with iris roots and leaves, which has medicinal qualities.
Nowadays, Boys’ Day is also Children’s Day, a day to pray for the health, growth and happiness of boys and girls. Click each post's
and share if you like it.Advertisement