7 July 2007
Shichi-go-san
Posted by kathy under: Uncategorized .
When Aya turned three, I considered bringing her to the photo studio for the traditional shichi-go-san photos - a perfect opportunity to take souvenir photos of her wearing a traditional Japanese kimono. But on the day when we finally went to Studio Alice, a photo studio near our place, it was full of people and the staff were too busy entertaining their customers. We decided to just leave and come back next time.
Days and months passed by, and I completely forgot about the shichi-go-san.
Days before Aya’s 5th birthday, I realized that two years had already passed since I last thought about bringing her to the said photo studio. I didn’t want to wait like we did last time, so I called the store and made an advanced reservation. A smart decision! 
Well, as you can see from the pictures above, it was a rather successful photoshoot. You may view the rest of her pictures at our Flickr album.
So what is the shichi-go-san, anyway?
According to Wikipedia:
Shichi-Go-San (???, literally “seven-five-three”) is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys, held annually on November 15.
Here is a more detailed description found at Kids Web Japan.
What I couldn’t figure out, though, is why this “rite of passage” does not seem to include five-year-old girls. Would anybody care to enlighten me why? However, it seems to me that the photo studios are not really that particular about a kid’s actual age. Having photos taken at a studio to mark the occasion is different from actually observing the tradition at the temple.
Well, personally I’m not so much concerned about the tradition as I am about taking home those wonderful photos to gawk over and treasure for years to come. The whole deal didn’t come cheap, but I didn’t mind at all. I’m a parent, so don’t blame me for splurging on my one and only daughter once in a while. And it’s for her birthday, after all.
Aya’s lovely photos now adorn the walls of our living room. The package includes blow-up photos of her wearing a traditional Japanese kimono (my choice, so it’s red!) and a Western-style gown (her Lola’s choice). And because we went there on her birth month, we also got a few extra goodies.
Next time I’ll write about our experience at the photo studio. The whole experience is worth a separate blog post, believe me.
19 Comments so far...
niceheart Says:
7 July 2007 at 11:35 pm.
She is so cute and the pictures are so pretty. And I don’t blame you for splurging at all.
If I only had one child, I’d probably do the same, but with three, just can’t afford that kind of thing.
Belle Says:
8 July 2007 at 12:34 am.
Kathy, Aya is adorable regardless of what costume she wears. Beautiful, just beautiful!
kathy Says:
8 July 2007 at 3:51 am.
Thanks niceheart! I think parents are more likely to splurge on their daughters than their sons - not because of any preferences for gender, but because of the tendency for parents to “doll up” their daughters. And with a daughter like Aya, who could resist? 
kathy Says:
8 July 2007 at 3:53 am.
Thanks for the compliment, Belle! If only I could have her wear a few more costumes - they’ve got a huge collection of clothes at the studio.
Abaniko Says:
8 July 2007 at 9:54 am.
Aya looks cute on the red kimono. She seems to be a happy and smart kid.
verns Says:
8 July 2007 at 11:04 pm.
awwww…she looks really adorable in her red kimono what a cutiepie…can’t wait to hear the story behind the picture taking hehe
Gypsy Says:
9 July 2007 at 4:21 am.
Oh wow, grabe galing ng anak mo ah! She really knows how to “project” ha!
Gina Says:
9 July 2007 at 10:43 am.
She certainly knows how to ‘romance’ the camera! Aya’s so cute and adorable. Lucky,lucky Mommy & Daddy!
Té la mà Maria Says:
10 July 2007 at 1:30 am.
We have been in his blog and have found it very interesting, congratulations regards from Catalonia - Spain
Rowena Says:
11 July 2007 at 6:05 pm.
kathy, you have a very pretty daughter. And she really looks so mabait. I bet she is…
kathy Says:
13 July 2007 at 5:08 am.
Thanks Abaniko. As for happy and smart - well she is definitely one happy little girl. Many people remark that she has a face made for smiling. She’s the joy of our lives.
kathy Says:
13 July 2007 at 5:10 am.
Thanks Verns! We were allowed to take a video recording during the photoshoot, so next time I will upload the video for your viewing pleasure.
kathy Says:
13 July 2007 at 5:11 am.
Syempre, magaling ata ang stage mother niyan hehe. Just kidding.
kathy Says:
13 July 2007 at 5:13 am.
Thanks Christianne. Nainggit nga kami ng sister ko, gusto rin namin magpakuha na naka-kimono. Imagine that? After all these years of staying here, never had a picture wearing one.
kathy Says:
13 July 2007 at 5:16 am.
Gee thanks, Gina! Someone told me that she can be a child model, because she really knows how to project herself. But…I’m content with the cutesy pictures. Indeed, lucky us.
kathy Says:
13 July 2007 at 5:27 am.
Hi there! Glad to know that somebody from Spain has been to this site. I hope you can come back again. Thanks for dropping by!
kathy Says:
13 July 2007 at 5:31 am.
Hi Rowena, thanks! She’s like any normal kid, with her own mischiefs and naughtiness. But she’s masunurin.
Thanks for dropping by, and hope to see you again here.
werew Says:
19 December 2007 at 1:01 pm.
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