I couldn’t write about the event on May 5th last month!
May 5th is the holiday in Japan called “kodomo no hi(the day for children)”.
The day is also called “tango no sekku,” and people who have a little boy celebrate their growth and health. They set a long pole and raise koi-nobori(giant streamers shaped carp, carp is a lucky symbol for success in a life) on their yard. When I was a child I used to find anywhere koi-nobori swimming in the blue sky in May. But now we rarely see that because of the housing situation and declining the custom.
Originally, people put iris and mugwort on a roof to ward off evil on this day in old times. They believed the scent of those plants had the power to expel evil.
Iris is called “syoubu” and it means a fight or a battle in Japanese. And also the shape of iris leaves look like a sword. That is why bushi, Japanese ancient warrior, liked iris.
It’s the custom for Japanese to eat “kashiwa-mochi” on this day.
