7-5-3 (November)

The 7-5-3 Festival (Shichi-Go-San 七五三) is an annual celebration held on November 15. The ages of 3, 5, and 7 were important milestones for Japanese children in the past and families with daughters aged 3 and 7 and sons aged 3 and 5, will try to visit a shrine to pray for the future health and happiness of their children on this date or the nearest weekend.

Learning Objectives

• To learn about the customs, foods and beliefs associated with the 7-5-3 festival in Japan.
• To reflect on important milestones and how these are celebrated in a different culture.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be familiar with Japanese traditional clothing worn during the celebrations.
• Students will learn the symbolism of the crane and turtle in Japanese culture by making and decorating their own chitose ame (‘thousand year sweets’) bag. 

Resources

• Lesson Plan: 7-5-3 Festival - PDF (522 KB)
• Background Notes: 7-5-3 Festival - PDF (666 KB)
• PowerPoint Presentation: 7-5-3 Festival - PPT (4.7 MB)
• Chitose Ame Bag Template - PDF (387 KB)
  
      Activity Pack - suitable for both classroom and home learning

Additional Resources

• Calligraphy sets available to loan 
• Use Ready Steady Nihongo Lesson 1 to teach students to count in Japanese up to 10.

 Note: This is a new resource and some sections may be revised or updated.