Tango no sekku

Tango no Sekku (端午の節句), also known as Ayame no hi (Iris festival), originally referred to an annual ceremony held at the Japanese imperial court on May 5.

From the Edo period (1603–1867), samurai dolls (武者人形, musha ningyo) were displayed in homes, koinobori (carp streamers) were hung in gardens.

From this period, the custom of decorating houses with offerings on Tango no Sekku spread to the peasant and chōnin classes, and paper kabuto began to be displayed.

In 1948, the government decreed this day to be a national holiday to celebrate the happiness of all children and to express gratitude toward mothers.

Tan (端) means 'beginning' and go (午) is a simplified form of 'horse' (⾺), referring to the Chinese zodiac name for the fifth lunar month.

Tango no Sekku was originally a day for women to purify the house by thatching the roof with irises, which were believed to be effective in repelling evil spirits, and for women to rest their bodies, but it was changed to a day for boys in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) when the samurai class took control of the government.

[1][2][5][6][7] The custom of displaying miniature Japanese armor and kabuto (helmets) on Children's Day, called Gogatsu Ningyo (May doll), has its origins in the Kamakura to Muromachi periods (1333–1573).

Since this was the time of the Tango no Sekku, they began to display armor, kabuto, and Japanese swords in the hope of protecting their children.