【Annual event】Children's Day [May 5]

One of Gosekku

Children's Day is one of the five festivals and is held on May 5th in Japan.
 

What is Gosekku

Gosekku is an annual event held at the turning point of the season, which is derived from the Ying-Yang Five Elements theory derived from ancient China, and there are also festival dishes to be eaten at each event.

Children's day cooking

In China, I used to chop irises and drink them.
In Japan, irises are floated in the bath to make iris hot water.
We eat kashiwa mochi in the Kanto region and chimaki in the Kanto region.

It became a festival for boys

Initially, it was an annual event to be aware of the turning points of the season.
That is the same reading as the Chinese character "尚武（Shobu）", which means that the Chinese character "※1菖蒲（Shoubu）" values ​​martial arts and military affairs　and the shape of the iris leaves is reminiscent of a sword, making it a festival for boys.
After that, he began to celebrate the growth of boys and pray for his health, and also began to decorate May dolls, armor, helmets, and swords, and in the Edo period, he began to raise carp streamers.

Why carp?

In China, there is a story that a carp becomes a dragon when it climbs a waterfall.
Therefore, it is thought that this is to pray that the carp (children) will grow steadily and eventually become a dragon.
By the way, it is also a word born from this event that the trial to be faced to grab glory is called ※2"Touryuumon".
IMG_6621
When you come to Japan, please enjoy Children's Day ‼
※１ 菖蒲＝iris
※2 Touryuumon＝gateway to success

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