Discussion · Bolhaverso

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social · 5 days ago

🎏CHILDREN'S DAY👶

Arriving at the end of Golden Week, 'Kodomo-no-hi' (こどもの日 "Children's Day") celebrates the happiness of children and families.

In the weeks leading up to May 5th many homes display dolls and armor (or helmets), symbolizing vitality and strength.
#こどもの日 #ChildrensDay

Tiny sugar koinobori for Children's Day tea time.

Nao-san's obi has a stylized armor design, a nod to Children's Day.

Tiny red and blue koinobori hung up for our samurai baby doll.

Our small samurai baby, ready to decorate the sofa room for Children's Day.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

There are two sweets, both wrapped in leaves, that are absolutely essential for "Children's Day": kashiwa mochi (かしわ餅/柏餅) and chimaki (ちまき/粽).

🎏=🐟➡️🌊✨🐉☁️

#Kyoto #京都 #Japan #kodomonohi #こどもの日 #childrensday

Kashiwa mochi, a rice cake wrapped in an 'oak' leaf, is popularly eaten around Children's Day.

Enjoying matcha and a chimaki before our small Children's Day display.

Conical shaped chimaki, a sweet typically eaten for Children's Day.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

Irises have a special meaning at this time of year, and in the teahouse we serve 'ayame-mochi' (あやめ餅).

It was believed the plants could ward away evil and cleanse impurities, and so it was common to see them hung from the eaves of houses.
#wagashi #和菓子 #irises #老松 #Kyoto

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

🍀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')

#kodomonohi #子供の日 #端午の節句 #Japan

Preparing bamboo leaves to wrap around chimaki cakes.

An opened kashiwa mochi sweet (the rice cake revealed under the leaf).

A beautiful green and purple domyoji sweet featuring a branded iris flower.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

⚔️
Iris leaves, thanks to their shape, have long been associated with swords...both protecting against & 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.

Around May 5th people bath in water strewn with iris leaves. It was believed this offered protection from ill health and bad luck.

Part of our Children's Day set features tiny bundles of iris leaves.

Iris leaves illuminated by the sun at Ota Pond.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

Kameya Shigehisa's (亀屋重久) owner and master confectioner kindly demonstrates how each chimaki is prepared.

The store is located across the road from Myōshin-ji's (妙心寺) north gate.
➡️https://www.kameya-shigehisa.com/

#GoldenWeek #Kyoto #京都 #Japan #和菓子 #wagashi #chimaki #ちまき

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

And this is how you bind the leaves of the chimaki together...

#GoldenWeek #Kyoto #京都 #Japan #和菓子 #wagashi #chimaki #ちまき

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Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

It's always great fun digging out the chubby (unamused) baby warrior and his tiny treasures for Kodomo-no-hi (こどもの日)🎏

#こどもの日 #childrensday #Kyoto #京都 #goldenweek #Japan #doll #chubbywarrior

Children's Day decorations in the teahouse sofa room.

Unpacking our doll baby samurai for Children's Day.

Nao-san unpacks the Children's Day decorations.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 5 days ago

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.

Tiny samurai boots for our tiny warrior doll.

Baby warrior doll in all his helmeted glory.

Baby warrior doll preparing for the big day.

Armor on display for Children's Day, this one is closer to life sized.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 4 days ago

🙏👶👶👶👶
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.

Kashiwa mochi, a bean paste filled rice cake wrapped in an oak leaf, is typically eaten on Children's Day.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 4 days ago

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).
#Japan #Kyoto #こどもの日

Peeking under a kashiwa leaf to the rice cake beneath.

Kashiwa mochi and a tea bowl featuring koinobori and irises.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 4 days ago

💚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 and flowers many were associated with.

For Children's Day there were no fresh oak leaves!

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 4 days ago

Stores began preserving leaves for the following year's kashiwa mochi (柏餅). Steamed, the leaves could be kept a long time, but their colour faded to a tea-ish brown.

Nowadays you will see both colours in stores as new technology allows for the green colour to be preserved💚🙌

A peek at the rice cake kept within the kashiwa ('oak') leaf.

Kashiwa mochi...you can see the leaves are different colours. Until recently it was very difficult to preserve and keep the leaves fresh green, so a muddier green/brown was more common.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 4 days ago

Until 1948 "Kodomo-no-hi" was known as "Boys' Day" (aka the "Feast of Banners"), following on from the celebration of girls at "Hina Matsuri" (雛祭り) on March 3rd.

At this time of year it's common to see koinobori (鯉のぼり), decorative carp windsocks, hung outside homes.
#京都

A unusual koinobori featuring a kappa riding a black carp.

Camellia Tea Ceremony

@camelliakyoto@mastodon.social replied · 4 days ago

Symbolising determination, the carp motif was based on the Chinese legend of a carp that swam upstream to become a dragon.

The black carp nowadays represents the father, red the mother, and blue the children (originally the eldest son was blue, each new son a different colour).