Hello Everyone!

In this series of articles, we’d like to focus on Japanese traditional & seasonal dishes. Today’s topic will be an “Chitose ame” eaten on Shichi-go-san (7-5-3).

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Japan’s annual event where 3- and 5–year-old boys and 3- and 7-year-old girls visit shrines on November 15 is called “Shichi-go-san” (literally meaning 7-5-3).

Every year on November 15 and during the weekends around that date, shrines become crowded with people visiting for “Shichi-go-san”.

People made visits to shrines to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children and to wish for their continued growth and vitality, with the ages of 3, 5, and 7 being marked as turning points.

This event has become established and remains known as “Shichi-go-san” today. It is usual for children to wear their best kimono, carry a Chitose-ame (a long candy bar), and to be taken by their family to visit the shrine and have commemorative photos taken.

If you visit a shrine on or around November 15, you will see lots of girls looking pretty in kimono and boys dressed in hakama (men’s formal loose trousers with pleats in the front).

-What’s Chitose ame?

If you were to think of one essential item for Shichi-go-san, it would probably be Chitose-ame.

This is a long, thin, red or white candy, which symbolizes healthy growth and longevity, and it is given in a bag decorated with a crane, a turtle, and Sho-chiku-bai (pine, bamboo, and plum trees), all of which are lucky charms for a long life for the children.

Chitose-ame is sold during the Shichi-go-san period at supermarkets and department stores. It’s sweet and delicious, and is worth trying.

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Japan has many seasonal foods and traditional Japanese sweets. As Japan’s leading culinary school in Tokyo, we are open for anyone who’s interested in Japanese Dishes. Please check our menu and class schedule below, and please feel free to contact us for your inquiry!

https://abccooking-t.jp/japan/

(Source of today’s article: http://jmtranslations.blog.jp/archives/5376426.html)