Japanese families bring pets to traditional Shinto festivals as birth rates drop

A Japanese priest blessed cats and dogs at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo during an annual festival traditionally reserved for children.

At the Ichigaya Kamegaoka Hachimangu shrine, Kenji Kaji performed purification rites for pets including a Shiba Inu and Yorkshire Terriers. Participants dressed their animals in colorful kimonos to participate in the Shichi-Go-San festival, a ceremony celebrating the growth of children at the ages of three, five, and seven.

Pet owners explained that they treat their animals as family members due to Japan's changing demographic structure. Shoko Kodama, a 46-year-old doctor, spent two months handmaking a custom red kimono for her five-year-old British Shorthair cat named Amber. She stated that the cat is like a daughter to her and helps ease the difficulties of life.

Other attendees, such as 23-year-old Miyu Shiro, described bringing their Yorkshire Terriers to the shrine as a natural way to include their pets in family traditions. Kenji Kaji observed that the role of pets is shifting as the population ages and the birth rate declines. The shrine has hosted approximately 400 families for this festival since the early 2000s to meet the growing demand from pet owners.

This shift occurs as Japan faces a demographic crisis; the World Bank reports that Japan has an average age of 49.9 years, making it the second oldest population in the world behind Monaco.