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Shichi go san 2011/9/12 03:32
We will be in Tokyo on November 15th. Do you think we will see anyone celebrating Shichi go san at Meiji Temple or will the activity be held on the week-end before?
by Twofishes  

Re: Shichi-go-san at shrines 2011/9/13 07:21
Presumably you mean Meiji Jingu, which is a shrine.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3002.html

We will be in Tokyo on November 15th.
Do you think we will see anyone celebrating Shichi go san or will the activity be held on the week-end before?

I suppose both and the timing depends also on families.
It seems the date November 15th does not have an especially important meaning in relation to Shichi-go-san.

I understand that it is not at temples but at shrines where Shichi-go-san is now celebrated.
It seems, however, that traditionally Shichi-go-san was not always a Shinto event.

Shichi-go-san is considered to have originated from three ceremonies to congratulate a boy/girl and wish him/her healthy growth.
(It was not easy for little children to survive in good health.)
It is explained in Japanese in this page (http://iroha-japan.net/iroha/B05_initiation/07_753.html)
that in the middle of Edo Period, mercers gathered the three to from one event,
which became popular in Edo among samurai-class families and strong merchants.
In Meiji Era or later, Shichi-go-san took root as a custom "Shichi-go-san" among ordinary people.

Your question reminded me of that I found a board at a temple asking in English to refrain from clapping hands during a prayer, which is a Shinto way.
(I assume even some Japanese people are mixing it up with a way at temples, though.)

by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Correction: typo 2011/9/13 07:28
In my latest message "to from one event" should have been "to form one event."

by omotenashi rate this post as useful

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