The Five Festivals in Japan

The five festivals in Japan are known as the Japanese Gosekku. They’re celebrated by the common people since the Edo period.

January 7 (Jinjitsu, Seven Herbs)
March 3 (Joushi, Peach)
May 5 (Tango, Calamus)
July 7 (Shichiseki, Sasa bamboo)
September 9 (Chōyō, Chrysanthemum)

Auspicious Numbers and the Origin of the Festivals

In Japan, odd numbers, especially those under ten, were long considered auspicious. This comes from the belief in fuusui and yin and yang.

You can read more about these auspicious numbers, 7-5-3 and the Luoshu Square in my previous blog post. Every one of the above days even got its own element of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

However, while these numbers were seen as auspicious, when coming in double, so it was believed, they could also bring bad luck. Therefore, a feast was chosen to „override“ and prevent bad luck.

The Imperial court celebrated these days already in the Nara Period, but the Edo bakufu made them holidays.

Even today, most of these festivals are still celebrated in Japan.

7 Herbs Festival in Japan

An Exception in January

However, January is an exception because the New Year was already huge. But 1/7 is close enough, isn‘t it?

Flowers and Plants of the Five Festivals

The festivals were linked to a specific flower, and September was the largest, marking the last of the Five Festivals. Today, the Chrysanthemum Festival is almost forgotten.

January – Jinjitsu and the Seven Herbs

First, the January festival (Jinjitsu) is linked to the Seven Herbs of Spring. Traditionally, they are mixed into rice porridge and are believed to bring good health for the coming year.

Plum, Peach, Apricot blossoms

March – Jōshi and Peach Blossoms

Next, the March festival is now well-known as Hinamatsuri, a celebration of girls. Before it became Hinamatsuri, the day was known as Jōshi and originated from a festival called Kyokusui, in which ships carrying sake were released on a stream. During the time it took for the sake to reach its destination, a poem had to be composed.

The flower belonging to this festival is the peach. It is probably not well known among tourists, but the peach blossom is really beautiful and appears shortly after the plum blossoms. It looks like a mix of plum and cherry blossoms and is often mistaken for one or the other.

May – Tango and Calamus

After that, the next festival on the list is a public Holiday within the Golden Week and is called Children’s Day. Though the public keeps calling it ‘Boys’ Day’. Before that, it was known as tango.

The flower, or better plant, associated with it is „Shoubu“, which sounds a bit like „joubu“, which means „strong“ in Japanese. It also has a connection to the Japanese fighting arts (in the Nara Period). Shoubu is Acorus calamus. Not to be mistaken with Hanashoubu, the Iris.

This is a mistake the Japanese often make because the Iris, Hanashoubu, is abbreviated to Shoubu. However, differentiation is important, since people are taking baths with the plant’s roots and leaves. Acorus calamus was already known as a medicinal plant in ancient China. It has a nice scent and is said to help with digestion issues.

Please note that the United States Food and Drug Administration has banned Calamus products from use as food or food additives!

Sasa Bamboo in Japan

July – Tanabata and Bamboo

Then, the July festival is known as the Tanabata (Shichiseki) festival. It celebrated the reunion of Vega and Altair, two stars in the constellation of The Weaver and The Cowherd. A couple who can only meet during this one night (when the sky is clear) of the year.

The plant associated with this day is bamboo (Sasa). A variation of the story of Vega and Altair (or Orihime and Hikoboshi in Japanese) is that the couple was separated by bamboo and couldn‘t meet. You can find this symbolism, for example, in the Rikugien garden in Tokyo.

Chrysanthemum Festival in Japan

September – The Chrysanthemum Festival

Finally, we are coming to the last one of these seasonal feasts, the Chrysanthemum Festival or chōyō. This is actually the reason for this article.

When I read about the Chrysanthemum festival held on September 9 in Tokyo in a belletristic book, I was like „Wait! Hold my coffee! Chrysanthemums are celebrated in November!“ Well… I soon had to learn that I was both right and wrong, but mostly wrong.

Of course, the Chrysanthemum display in the first two weeks of November is a major event now, especially at Shinjuku Gyoen, but there actually IS a Chrysanthemum festival in September! And it is still celebrated at a few places in Japan with Chrysanthemums, chestnut rice, and Chrysanthemum sake. Please note that there are Chrysanthemums meant for eating (flowers and leaves), and ornamental Chrysanthemums.

Most places now celebrate it at the beginning of November, probably because it better aligns with Chrysanthemum’s actual flowering period. The ancient Chrysanthemum festival was held on September 9th according to the moon calendar, which can’t be directly translated into the calendar we use now.

Conclusion

I hope you liked this short excursion into the five big ancient flower festivals of Japan.

Feel free to share your experiences, thoughts, or questions on this topic in the comments.

Support our Work on Patreon

Real Japanese Gardens Patreon Banner

Our Patrons are making our work possible and are the first to read!

Subscribe to never miss a new Blog

Marketing Permissions

Agree to hear from Real Japanese Gardens:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails.
We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform.