Summary: The household always bustled with activity on his birthday.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its elements. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.
- On His Birthday -
The household always bustled with activity on his birthday. There were meals to prepare and decorations to put up.
In the midst of all the industry, someone would slip him chitoseame, sticks of candy in a bag embroidered with turtles and cranes. As a child, he did not notice the symbols of longevity.
His bath on that day would be more thorough, his hair combed with more painstaking care than usual. He got to wear his favourite robe, the one he had been given for the Shichi-Go-San.
Presentable, he would stand before his mother and shrug bashfully at her compliments on his appearance. And then, hand in hand, they would visit the small room where an altar stood.
Each year, she knelt and prayed for his long life and happiness while incense stung his nose. In the silence that followed, he privately added his own petition for her sake.
The evening meal was always elaborate, with musicians and rare delicacies. Sometimes, a tall, white figure appeared, a silent presence that came and went without warning or fanfare.
As night drew close, the koto sang on alone, a melody sweetly melancholy.
It was the only day in the year when his mother did not play. Instead, in the middle of the room, she danced, sleeves and hair rustled with each deliberate, sorrowful motion of the bon odori.
Watching her, Inuyasha held himself serious and stiff, his face a mask against sorrow.
Every year, on his birthday, they commemorated his father's death.
-end-
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Notes:
Turtles and cranes are the symbol of longevity for the Japanese.
+ The fact that Inuyasha was born on the same day that Inu no Taisho died is based on Movie 3. There is no manga canon about the timing between the two events.
+ I took some liberties and jumbled some cultural points. I just want to clarify these, for the record, so as not to mislead anyone. Shichi-Go-San is celebrated on the weekend closest to 15 November every year. It is then that Inuyasha would be given chitoseame and it is then that he would wear hakama for the first time (rite of passage of a sort). The time of his real birthday (and Inupapa's death) is probably some other time in the year and he would not have received chitoseame then. Similarly, inupapa's passing would have been commemorated during the Bon Odori, not on the real anniversary of his death.
Chitoseame - Literally "thousand year candy". Symbolizes health and longevity. Given to children during the Shichi-Go-San in a bag with a crane and a turtle on it, symbols of longevity in Japan.
Bon odori - A dance during the Japanese Buddhist holiday to honor the departed spirits of one's ancestors.
Koto - A traditional stringed musical instrument from Japan.
Shichi-Go-San - Literally "Seven Five Three". Traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three- and seven-year-old girls and three- and five year-old boys.