Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 1
·
May 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
62
Today, the Shichigosan celebration is one of the most popular ceremonial events in
Japanese households. It provides an interesting example of a pre-urban traditional practice
that has flourished in a highly urbanized and developed consumer culture. I argue that in
spite of its commercialized aspects — or perhaps because of them — contemporary
Shichigosan is a meaningful event for most families in present-day Japan. In this article I
will analyze the historical process that produced the present ritual form and its meaning, and
during which consumption has become an integral part of the ritual pattern.
4
I will investigate
the effects that urban space and evolving urban lifestyle have had on the ritual. Phenomena
such as commercialization and the ever-changing consumer lifestyle will be examined in
relation to the alterations that occurred within the ritual during the discussed era. The
individual actor in my description will appear not strictly as an observer of a ritual but also as
a modern consumer.
It has been argued that the pervasive character of the market in modern industrial
societies exercise a strong impact on rituals.
5
In the case of childhood rites in Japan, the
commodification of childrearing (Creighton 1994; Kond
ō
1999) and the effects of the media
have been listed among the main factors that influence today’s ritual occasions celebrated by
the Japanese family (Shintani et al. 2003; Ishii 2009). Also, several studies noted that in
recent decades contemporary Western as well as non-Western industrialized societies have
witnessed a revival of ritualism.
6
In a survey conducted within a Japanese childrearing circle
in the early 2000s, Shintani et al found that young mothers observe rituals connected to
children in a higher number than the generation of grandmothers used to do several decades
earlier (Shintani et al. 2003). The authors argue that the revival and popularity of rituals are
mainly due to the effects that commodification of childrearing and magazine reading have
had on mothers in contemporary Japan (ibid 30). Discussions concerning the effects of the
market on rituals often directly or indirectly imply that commercialization somehow
contaminates and undermines the ‘authentic’ value or the essence of ritual occasions. The
emergence of consumption, in particular conspicuous consumption, in the context of a ritual
is often perceived by social commentators and critics as a threat. This threatening nature of
4
The present study is based on the research that I have undertaken for my doctoral dissertation.
5
For examples in the Western context see the studies by Schmidt 1995 and by Pleck 2000 among
others. For case studies in the Japanese context see Edwards 1989; Goldstein-Gidoni 1997; Ishii 2009.
6
For an in-depth discussion see Moore and Myerhoff 1977; Boissevain 1992; Berghaus 1998 and
Grimes 2002.
