About prayer
At "Hare to Kurasu," all of our May dolls and carp streamers are blessed at Wake Shrine before being delivered, so that families can receive their wishes for their newborn children to grow up healthy and be able to welcome the sacred celebratory event of the festival with peace of mind and joy.
Since ancient times, May dolls and carp streamers have been decorated as amulets for children, with the hopes of warding off misfortune and granting happiness in life, and they are still displayed today as part of important celebratory events.
Every year, we celebrate Tango no Sekku with our families, and as the seasons change, our children grow up day by day.
We hope that the festival decorations we deliver, along with the thoughts of your family, will be a joy to your child and help them grow.
We will carefully deliver each decoration so that you can look back for a long time on the gladness you felt when you chose these festival decorations for your family.
We hope you have an irreplaceable first Boys' Festival.
As proof of the prayer, we will enclose a prayer tag with your May doll and a prayer certificate with your carp streamer.
Thanksgiving (memorial service)
May decorations that have watched over your children's growth.
During the celebration of Tango no Sekku, you may have made many memories, such as decorating the May decorations together and looking up at the carp streamers.
Thanksgiving refers to the ceremony in which May dolls and carp streamers that have outlived their usefulness are offered at a shrine as a memorial service for children who have grown up and become independent.
Some families put away their May dolls when their child is seven years old, while others get rid of them when the child becomes independent (after graduation, coming of age ceremony, getting a job, etc.).
Some families continue to display them indoors as seasonal decorations. There is no clear definition, so none of them are wrong.
However, in reality, we receive inquiries from people who say that although they no longer display their decorations, they are important to them and cannot let go of them. Or, they don't know if it's OK to let go of them. Or, they don't know how to let go of them.
If the year continues with the doll remaining tucked away in the back of the closet and not displayed, then it may be that its purpose for the May Festival has come to an end.
When you give up an omamori charm, you have it burned at a shrine. Even if the doll has outlived its usefulness, instead of throwing it away, it is considered good to express gratitude for its protection and have it memorialized.
At Hare to Kurasu, we offer a memorial service to enable you to part with your Hina dolls, which have completed their role, with peace of mind and without any regrets.
Wake Shrine is the tutelary deity of the Wake clan, enshrined at the birthplace of Wake no Kiyomaro and Wake no Hiromushihime. One of the deities enshrined, Wake no Hiromushihime, is revered as the "guardian deity of children" because she raised 83 orphaned children.