🎏THE WARRIOR & THE WAGASHI🍯
With the 'Kodomo-no-hi' (こどもの日) celebrations fast approaching, we pulled out the May 5th decorations and dusted down our chubby little boy samurai for display.
It's been a few years since he's left his box, and he didn't look impressed😅
As we've mentioned before, it's very important not to forget the dolls and other household items that sit gathering dust in the attic. One day they may end up getting their own sort of revenge for being abandoned😯
🍀LUCKY LEAVES✨
Three types of leaves, thanks to their symbolism, play an important role at this time of year.
👑🍃daimyo oak or Japanese emperor oak (柏 'kashiwa)
🎋🍃bamboo (笹の葉 'sasa-no-yō')
⚔️🍃iris (菖蒲 'ayame' or 'shōbu')
⚔️
Iris leaves, thanks to their shape, have long been associated with swords...both protecting against and cutting through misfortune.
The word for iris, 'shōbu' (菖蒲), is also a homonym for 'warlike spirit' (尚武), and from Kamakura times the flowers came to symbolise the warrior.
The custom of displaying dolls and armor for Children's Day began in Edo times, though the origins are somewhat hazy.
The dolls not only acted as a prayer that the family's boys would grow up healthy and brave, but were also thought to take on the children's sickness and misfortune.
🙏👶👶👶👶
Kashiwa mochi (かしわ餅/柏餅) are typically eaten for 'Kodomo-no-hi' (こどもの日) on May 5th.
The simple sweet takes its name from the oak leaf (柏 'kashiwa') used to wrap the (typically) anko filled mochi.
🍃😋🍴❌
Unlike sakura-mochi, the leaf should not be eaten.
Oak trees do not shed their older leaves until the fresh leaves have grown, thus they have come to symbolize the prosperity of one’s descendants...a prayer for the safe growth (and health) of children.
The perfect sweet for "Children's Day" (こどもの日).
💚A CHANGE OF COLOUR🤎
In 1873 Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar. Festivals suddenly found themselves moved forward (by about a month) in the year, putting them out of sync with the plants & flowers many were associated with.
For Children's Day there were no fresh oak leaves!
Camellia Tea Ceremony
Freeman Crouch