Children in kimono visit shrines for 7-5-3

Aoi, 7, and Haruto, 5, visited Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine
 with their parents and grand mother.

 You may have seen children dressed in colorful kimono, Japanese traditional clothing, recently. Perhaps that's for 7-5-3 (shichi-go-san) .

7-5-3 is a ceremony to pray for children's health and happiness. 7 year old girls, 5 year old boys and 3 year old boys and girls visit local shrines with their parents around November 15. Most children wear beautiful kimono on this day.

This custom is said to have originated in Heian Period more than a thousand years ago, to celebrate the passage of their children into middle childhood. When mortality rate of children was very high, this was especially important.

Today, children's mortality rate is very low, but the number of children keeps declining in Japan. On the other hand, the number of elderly people keeps increasing.

That means many grandparents have only a few grandchildren. Therefore, they are eager to spend a lot for them. 7-5-3 is one of the best chances. They are happy to buy expensive kimono for them.

To attract these families, many photo studios offer dressing up and making up services for this day, not only for children, but also for their mothers and even grandmothers.

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(Seiko)