Japanese Population + 1

A lot of people talk about increasing the population of Japan, but J-List is doing something about it. The newest addition is little Motoharu, the son recently born to Tomo, the J-List staff member who keeps our site stocked with DVDs, import dating-sim games and those wacky Hello Kitty shoulder massagers. As a new father in Japan, Tomo has a lot to look forward to, including making the official visit to a Shinto shrine a month after the baby is born (the equivalent of a Baby Christening) and spending the next ten years taking baths with his son, since it’s usual for fathers to bathe with their kids until they reach late elementary school or so. (The awesome word for this is “skinship.”) He’ll likely celebrate his son’s first birthday the traditional way, by tying 2 kg of mochi rice cakes to the child’s back then placing an abacus, a writing brush and money on the floor. Whatever object the baby grabs first supposedly determines his future job (e.g. a merchant if he grabs the abacus, an artist or writer if he goes for the writing brush, a wealthy man if he takes the money). One of my favorite customs related to raising kids in Japan is called Shichi-go-san, literally “seven-five-three.” At age three and seven (for girls) and five (for boys), parents take their kids down to the local photo studio and get them dressed up in beautiful kimono and have their picture taken, then visit the family Shinto shrine to pray for their continued health and good luck.

Shichi-go-san is one of my favorite customs as a parent in Japan.