Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit) Coloring Pages

A Special Day to Celebrate Children Growing Up

Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit) is a special event where children who turn 3, 5, and 7 years old wear fine clothes and visit a shrine. You give thanks for growing up healthy and pray for a happy future.
The day to visit is around November 15. Today, many families choose a convenient day in October or November to visit.
Long ago, it was hard for children to grow up without getting sick. That is why people celebrated these milestone years with great care.

Celebrations for Ages 3, 5, and 7

Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit) has a different meaning for each age.
At age 3, both boys and girls celebrate tying up the hair they have let grow since they were babies. Girls often wear a sleeveless jacket called a Hifu over their kimono.
At age 5, boys celebrate wearing a Hakama for the first time. They wear a crested Haori jacket and Hakama, and carry a folding fan and a small decorative sword.
At age 7, girls celebrate wearing a kimono tied with an Obi sash, just like grown-ups.

8 Coloring Pages

The first 3 pages show families in fine clothes in front of a shrine gate. The third page is a detailed picture showing a mother holding a Japanese umbrella and a shrine with guardian dog statues.
The 4th to 6th pages show a 3-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, and a 7-year-old girl in fine clothes, one by one. There is no background, so you can focus on coloring the kimono patterns.
The 7th page shows a family taking a commemorative photo at a photo studio. The 8th page is a coloring page for grown-ups. It shows a Chitose Ame candy bag and lucky symbols like cranes, turtles, chrysanthemums, and handballs in Japanese patterns.

Chitose Ame Candy

When you think of Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit), you think of long, thin red-and-white Chitose Ame candy.
"Chitose" means one thousand years. The long, stretched candy carries a wish for you to live a long life.
The bag shows cranes and turtles as signs of long life, along with lucky pine, bamboo, and plum.
Other November events include Tori no Ichi. In May, there is also Children's Day, which celebrates boys growing up.

A Day of Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit)

On Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit) day, you put on fine clothes in the morning and go to the shrine with your family.
At the shrine, a Shinto priest performs a blessing ritual for you, and you pray to stay healthy.
After the visit, families celebrate by taking photos at a studio or eating a big feast together.

Festive Clothes in Celebration Colors

If you use bright colors like red, pink, or orange for a girl's kimono, it will look super pretty.
Color each flower and ball pattern in a different color. Add some gold or yellow here and there to make it look fancy!
If you color the sash in a different color from the kimono, its shape will stand out nicely.

Looking Cool in Boys' Kimono Sets

For a 5-year-old boy's jacket, try black, navy, or green. For the pleated pants, try gray and white stripes. That will make him look very smart!
Color the round pom-poms on the chest white, and color the folding fan gold and red.
For the pleats on the pants, color every other line a bit darker to make them look 3D!

Long-Life Candy and Lucky Symbols

Color the long-life candy red and white. Color the crane on the bag white and red, the turtle green or brown, and the pine tree dark green.
For the Japanese patterns on page 8, pick a color for each section. If you use the same color for the same pattern, it will look neat and lovely!

Autumn Shrine Views

For the shrine background on the first 3 pages, color the gate vermilion red, the leaves red and orange, and the pine trees dark green. That will make it look just like Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit) in autumn!
Try using lots of autumn colors together with the Autumn Leaf Viewing coloring page, too.

Faces and Hair

Color the children's faces in light peach and add light pink to their cheeks to give them happy smiles.
Color the hair black or dark brown. Draw fine lines along the hair flow to give it a shiny look!
It looks so cute if you match the flower hair accessory to the pattern on the kimono.

Why November 15th?

One story says that people started celebrating on November 15th long ago in the Edo period. It began when people prayed on this day for the health of shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's child.
Another story says it is because November 15th on the old calendar was Kishukuniichi, a super lucky day when anything you do goes well.

Traditional Age and Modern Age

In the old days, families celebrated Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine Visit) using the traditional age system, where a baby is 1 year old the day they are born.
Today, many families use the modern age system that counts age by birthdays. Both ways are totally fine!

3, 5, And 7 Are Lucky Numbers

In Japan, odd numbers that cannot be divided by 2 have always been seen as lucky numbers.
3, 5, and 7 belong to this group too! Other celebrations like Doll's Festival on March 3rd, Children's Day on May 5th, and the Star Festival on July 7th come from the very same idea.

Taking Photos Early

Today, many families do an early photo shoot at a photo studio before the actual day of their shrine visit. They dress up in fine clothes to take special photos.
To avoid the busy crowds in November, they take photos in the summer or early fall. That way, they can take their time at the shrine on the actual day.
The 7th coloring page shows a scene from a photo shoot at a studio just like that!