Since ancient times, there has been an important activity during the Dragon Boat Festival: planting calamus at the door, which means to ward off evil spirits.

Placing calamus on the door is one of the most important customs of the Dragon Boat Festival, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the "Calamus Festival".

In Japan, calamus has other meanings besides exorcising evil spirits.

Because in Japanese, the pronunciation of calamus is the same as "martial arts", and the leaves of calamus also resemble samurai swords. Therefore, in the eyes of the samurai family, the Dragon Boat Festival has a special meaning.

Gradually, the Wu family associated the Dragon Boat Festival with celebrating the growth of the family boys.

By the time it developed into the current Edo period, Japan's Dragon Boat Festival had acquired the attribute of "Boys' Day", and its festival customs were completely different from those in China. It was basically two different things from the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the samurai family will set up a shelf decorated with hina dolls in the house to display Sakata Kintoki, Emperor Jimmu, Chinese Zhongkui dolls, small armors, weapons, flags, and worship rice dumplings and cypress cakes.

, used to pray for the healthy growth of the boys at home and their success on the battlefield in the future.

On this day, real flags and carp streamers symbolizing success and the carp leaping over the dragon gate are also hung outside the house and in the courtyard.

Within five days of the Dragon Boat Festival, women will also make bouquets filled with fragrant medicine used to ward off evil spirits. These sachets, called medicinal jade, will all be hung on the duck house in the house.

However, although the Dragon Boat Festival in China and Japan are completely two kinds of festivals, there are still some common customs.

For example: People make and eat rice dumplings on this day.

The family has a trial gym for a big boy named Isamu Kondo, and it will be held grandly every Dragon Boat Festival.

The Trial Guard Hall is closed for a day today, and everyone is mobilizing to start decorating the Trial Guard Hall.

The Edo shogunate had regulations that all official officials could have a day off during the "Gogo Festival".

However, after encountering the "Kerosene Storage Incident", an atmosphere of extreme tension pervaded the practice from top to bottom.

Before the "kerosene storage incident" was fully investigated, it was a bit inappropriate to give "three times" leave to all members of the execution office.

So after careful consideration, those at the top decided to draw lots to allow half of the people to take a day off on the Dragon Boat Festival, while the other half would be arranged later.

Qingdeng was quite lucky: he won the lottery to "take a day off during the Dragon Boat Festival", so he got a day off today after a long absence.

Under the mobilization of Shusuke, Abi and others, diners such as Qingnobo, Saito, Nagakura, and Harada who are currently staying at the Shiwei Hall also decorated the Shiwei Hall.

Aoto and Okita were responsible for placing the shelves and dolls decorated with dolls in the living room.

Kondo, Saito, Nagakura, and Harada were responsible for planting irises, hanging flags, and carp streamers at the gate of the Imperial Guard Hall.

By the way - Hijikata didn't come to test the defense hall today.

According to Okita, during these important festivals, Hijikata is busy hanging out with his girlfriends, so Hijikata is basically nowhere to be seen.

While Aotomasa and Okita were meticulously placing the dolls on the shelves in the living room, there was a lot of excitement outside the imperial examination hall.

"Nagakura, stand further back. It should look better if you hang the carp streamer in that position." Harada, who was standing outside the gate of the trial guard hall, gave orders to Nagakura.

"Here?" Nagakura, who was standing inside the gate, held three carp streamers and stood half a step back.

"Well...you have to stand back a little bit."

"here?"

"...You stand a little further to the left."

"Left? Here?"

"I feel like you have to stand back a little bit."

"Where are you going to stand?! Are you okay or not?!"

"Well... forget it, you'd better stand back to the starting position."

"Are you kidding me?!"

Kondo, who was working with Saito to put calamus on the gate of the imperial examination hall, and was also cleaning the gate of the imperial examination hall, turned his head and smiled helplessly at Nagakura and Harada, who were making a lot of noise: "Carp streamers should not be hung up."

It doesn’t matter where it is, just find a place to hang it up.”

After that, Kondo smiled bitterly and said to himself: "I'm so old, why don't you celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival for me... ugh..."

Kondo sighed heavily, and then he and Saito beside him inserted irises on the door.

At this moment, a clear male voice sounded from the distance behind Kondo:

"Oh, Yong-kun, your carp streamers are so beautiful."

Kondo's body shook slightly for a few times, and then he turned his head around with a look of astonishment - he saw a very young young man holding the saber on his waist with a faint smile on his face.

, walked slowly towards their trial defense hall.

"Yongjun, good morning."

It’s Chiba Eijiro, the “Chiba of Technique”.

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Author Jun Kepu: During the Dragon Boat Festival in the Edo period, riding, archery and horse racing events were held in some places. But such high-end activities obviously had nothing to do with the Imperial Guard Hall.

In modern Japan, the Dragon Boat Festival has basically become a Boys' Day. The nature of the Dragon Boat Festival has been very weak and it has completely become a festival to celebrate the boys in the family. However, traditional customs such as eating rice dumplings are still retained.

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