Satsuki: Children’s Celebrations, Fireworks, and Other May Traditions

From left: Children play in front of banners celebrating tango no sekku in the series Kodakara gosechi no asobi by artist Torii Kiyonaga; koinobori flutter over the water in the print “Suidō Bridge and Surugadai” from Utagawa Hiroshige’s series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. (Both images courtesy Colbase)

Bathers enjoy shōbuyu in a print by Utagawa Kunisada from Gosekku no uchi, a series depicting seasonal customs. (Courtesy National Diet Library)

Yakatabune passengers revel under the fireworks in Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s “Enjoying the Cool at Ryōgoku” in the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital. Among the boat’s passengers are two female entertainers holding shamisen. Hosting such an extravagant cruise would have been a costly endeavor. (Courtesy Colbase)

Shōtei Hokuju,a pupil of Katsushika Hokusai, depicts a lively atmosphere of stalls and fireworks along the banks of the Sumida River in “Night Scenery in the Evening at Ryōgoku Bridge” from the series Shinpan ukie. (Courtesy Colbase)

A peddler of tokoroten produces the noodles, derived from tengusa seaweed, with the aid of a special utensil called a tentsuki in a print from the series Shokunin zukushi ekotoba by Kuwagata Keisai. (Courtesy National Diet Library)

A traveling salesman offers cups of biwayōtō to customers in Kyokutei Bakin’s print “Biwayōtō seller” in the series Kinseiryūkō akindo kyōkaezu. (Courtesy National Diet Library)

Children watch as a seller blows soap bubbles in Katsushika Hokusai’s “Kokuchō” in the series Shinpan daidō zui. (Courtesy Colbase)