Boys Day, Tango no Sekku Samurai Armor

Similar to the Girls Day - Hina Matsuri, Japan also celebrates the Boys Day - Tango no Sekku, on May 5th. On this occasion, the families with boys are rising koinobori and are setting up inside the house a very beautiful display.

This can be a Gogatsu Ningyo (dolls representing famous samurai or characters from folk stories), a miniature samurai helmet or a miniature armor set equipped with katana, bow and arrows and nobori banners with family crests, as you can see in this photo taken inside an old samurai house in Kurashiki.

Like many other Japanese traditional customs, the armor and the dolls are not just pure decoration, they are also symbols. By exhibiting these objects, the parents are wishing for their boys to grow up strong, healthy and lucky: the helmet and the armor are to protect them from any illness or injury...