Old-Fashioned “Chitoseame” Candy Bags for The Japanese Children’s Celebration “Shichi-go-san”

The Origin of Shichi-go-san

In Japan, when girls turn three and seven years old and boys turn five, we appreciate their growth and have celebration ceremonies at shrines, temples, and other religious ceremonial halls. This ceremony is called Shichi-go-san, which means seven-five-three (7-5-3) in Japanese numerical characters.

Shichi-go-san is said to have originated on November 15, 1681, the first year of Tenwa, during the Edo period, when the fifth Shogun, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, prayed for the health of his eldest son, Tokumatsu. Later, the prayer for children’s health was spread among the common people of Edo (which is Tokyo today), and then eventually, it was spread throughout the rest of Japan.

Now, more than 340 years after the first year of Tenwa, the celebration date is  not fixed to November 15, and the celebration is done by choosing a suitable date for the convenience of family and relatives to gather for the ceremonies.

Chitoseame wishes for a long life for the children

On Shichi-go-san, long-shaped special candies called Chitoseame are given to children, and we eat Chitoseame on the celebration date.

Chitose is derived from “thousand years,” and ame means candies. Chitoseame is made to wish children to live a long and healthy life.

The shape of the Chitoseame is long and slender, within 15 millimeters (approx. 0.59 inches) in diameter and 1 meter (approx. 3.28 feet) in length, and the Chitoseame comes in a set of two, colored red and white, respectively.

Red and white Chitoseame are considered auspicious and are placed in a special elongated packaging bag called Chitoseame-bukuro (bukuro means a bag or bags) with auspicious patterns of crane, turtle, pine, bamboo, and plum.

Chitoseame had been served to children because the death rate of children in the Edo period was very high, so we wished children to live as long as Chitoseame.

Chitoseame-bukuro happily wraps our wish for the children

My great-grandfather started a printing business in the Ushigome area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, in 1914. As one of the products at that time, they worked on creating Chitoseame-bukuro and started selling them.

Now, my parents are carrying on the manufacturing and selling of Chitoseame-bukuro. It has been nearly 110 years since the start of manufacturing Chitoseame-bukuro. Still, even now, the original design remains the same as it was at that time. Also, the manufacturing methods have stayed the same, so the handle parts are still pasted by hand and prepared for the celebration of Shichi-go-san every year. 

The pattern designed at that time was devised according to a maxim: “Cranes live a thousand years, turtles live ten thousand years, until both grow gray hairs together.” The pattern of Shochikubai, which depicts pine, bamboo, and plum, and the letter Kotobuki, which means long life, are drawn as a joyous pattern, and the letter Iwai, which means celebration, was printed in white on the red handle part. Together, the wish for the children’s long lives is put into this Chitoseame-bukuro design.

In addition, the pattern on the back side depicts a seven-year-old girl, a five-year-old boy, and a three-year-old girl wearing fine clothes for the Shichi-go-san ceremony surrounded by Mt. Fuji, pines, and flowers, which conveys the desire to celebrate the children’s happy growth.

It is hard to believe now, but this pattern was all drawn by hand with a brush by a craftsman at that time. Even if you look at it now, the touch is very soft, the coloring is gentle and vivid, and it is elegantly balanced overall, naturally attracting the eyes of those who pick up the bag with their hands. It seems as if the pattern is talking to me, like when I open a picture book of the tales of old Japan. Especially when I see the smiles of the children depicted on the back of the pattern, my heart will naturally soften. Would these patterns be equivalent to one of the artworks drawn during the Taisho period?

In addition, the chitoseame-bukuro length is set at 50 cm (approx. 19.7 inches) because it is the most extended length that the machine can make, as we wish for the longest length of the children’s life. And the final paste of the handle of chitoseame-bukuro is done by hand, one by one, and each handle is pasted with all our hearts, wishing for the children’s growth.

Chitoseame-bukuro is made and delivered to you one by one using the same unchanging manufacturing method, which has taken the same amount of time and effort since the old days. 

Nakao-shoten, a company founded by my great-grandfather in the early 1910s.

Nakao-shoten, a company founded by my great-grandfather in the early 1910s.

Put our wish for the growth of the children in a bag

It has been nearly 110 years since my great-grandfather started manufacturing and selling chitoseame-bukuro, but what remains unchanged is not only the design and manufacturing methods but also our sincere wish to protect children from accidents or sickness and for them to live long lives.

This unchanging wish is also reflected in the shape and manufacturing of chitoseame wrapped in chitoseame-bukuro. With chitoseame in chitoseame-bukuro prepared in advance and holding a Shichi-go-san ceremony where families and relatives celebrate the children’s growth and pray for their long life at shrines or temples, our wishes for children would grow stronger. Consequently, such wishes become the spirit of compassion and kindness that would be widely handed down to the whole society.

After many years from the Edo period, Shichi-go-san has spread among the common people. This is probably because various people have prepared and protected the ceremonies. 

As for the side that manufactures and sells Chitoseame-bukuro, after passing through various people involving ordering, cutting, and printing papers to make bags, stocking, final pasting, delivering, etc., chitoseame-bukuro will eventually be delivered.

Moreover, we sometimes feel that our Chitoseame-bukuro is especially “protected.” A strange thing happens when delivering chitoseame-bukuro. They will never get wet in the rain. Even during typhoons, when we have to unload the chitoseame-bukuro at the delivery destination, just for a moment, the rain always stops, and we can deliver them without getting wet. And as soon as the delivery is done, the rain begins to fall hard again. We are reminded every time that lucky charms are protected from the heavens

Shichi-go-san is a uniquely Japanese ceremony. As one who plays a role in this event, we sincerely hope to continue protecting the wishes that dwell in Chitoseame-bukuro.

Shichi-go-san

Shichi-go-san in the mid-1970s.

Ref. Japanese Wikipedia: Shichi-go-san