ABSTRACT
A pervasive 'key theme' in Japanese culture is the importance attached to 'age', both in religious and non-religious contexts. Pregnancies in Japan are said to last ten months, as calculated by the old lunar calendar, by which not only the years but also the days are assigned animal names. Women whose later pregnancies coincide with the hot humid summers of central and southern Japan often alternate two or three of the simpler sashes on a daily basis in order to wash them. Nevertheless, it is usually the older variety that is put on initially, at an 'obi celebration', even if the expectant mother later changes to another type. The mother, who normally wears a kimono for the occasion, holds the infant in her arms while the priest recites a few Shintō prayers and then performs a ritual purification over the child, by three formal waves of the 'sacred staff'.
