A boy underwent his gempuku, manhood ceremony, when he reaches adult height. About 13. Girls also went through the same ceremony. They received their swords, their samurai hair style, and their adult name.
Here's the gempuku from my samurai saga.--
Hope it helps.-----
As tradition dictated, his gempuku ceremony was held and Yoshi was installed in his father's place. In many's opinions, Shigeni had withheld his permission for the boyhood ceremony for too long. With the rest of the household assembled in the courtyard, Michi observed as her son was led from the bathhouse where he had been ritualistically bathed and dressed in the basic clothing of a man. His hair, considered a symbol of life and held great importance to the samurai, covered his shoulders down his back like a girl's, raven as a crow's wing and straight. A long strand dangled into his face to conceal the deep, solemn eyes.
Surrounded by his father's high-ranking retainers, as well as Sou Kiyohara, the boy proceeded to the shrine of Hachiman Taro. The young Sanematsu stood a head taller than all save the priest. Yoshi's grandfather was carried in on his liter, due to the battle wound that had crippled him years before. Only the men entered the small house, but all knew what would take place. Kneeling before the altar of the war god, the barber draped a broad material around young Sanematsu to catch the great length of hair he would remove. After cropping his hair to his shoulders, the barber gathered the sides and top to pull into a clump at the crown. He tied this tightly then turned his attention to the front.
Afterwards, when told what had taken place, Michi was informed Sanematsu chose then to speak.
"I do not wish for the top to be shaved."
From his liter at the side, Lord Shigehide snorted, but Kiyohara, the priest in charge of the ceremony, nodded to the barber to forgo the sakayaki as the young man requested.
The barber retied the queue. Once bundled, he oiled it richly and folded it to lie along the middle of his head. A discreet binding held it in place. Finished, he removed the hair littering the drape. Imperceptibly, Kiyohara rescued a thick lock of the shorn hair and coiled it into a silk envelope.
"Yoshi-dono, stand," Kiyohara spoke and the boy obeyed.
Kiyohara wrapped a wide girdle around Yoshi's waist into which the straps of his hitatare were inserted. This would hold his swords. Over the plain garment covering him to his groin, the priest draped a jacket. This daimon had the Sanematsu kamon at five places-each sleeve at the shoulder, mid-back, and each side of his upper chest. Kiyohara turned to an assistant dresser and picked up another heavier, mid-calf length coat.
"Yoshi-dono, please accept this dobuku from my former samurai wardrobe." Kiyowara put it on the boy-man. "Through it, may you have every attribute you admire in my humble self."
Intricate embroidery of silver threads designing flowers characteristic of masculinity decorated the dark blue dobuku. Thick for warmth, it was typical of the clothing worn by the inhabitants of Kiyohara's native Shikoku, a island north of Kyushu.
"Know that, with the giving and acceptance, I become your patron, to help and guide you through your life," Kiyohara continued.
"I will accept your gift and guidance, Sou Kiyohara," the boy-daimyo answered.
"Very well. We will now speak to the great Buddha."
They knelt before the altar and the priest intoned the necessary prayers. Those who had entered the shrine departed when he concluded. On the engawa of the small building, before the Sanematsu family and the household, Kiyohara officially made the boy samurai.
"From this moment forward, Sanematsu Yoshi, you shall be known as Sanematsu Yoshihide of the clan Minamoto."
By all rights, Sanematsu's adult name should have been Shigeyoshi, but the name Kiyohara bestowed now had been chosen at his birth. Tr5adition held that names be carried down with the same syllables. Yoshi's father had been Shigeni and his father, Shigehide. Michi had named her baby Yoshi and it was kept by Kiyohara had kept it in deference to her.
"You have been called Yoshi, meaning lucky.' Now, with Hide, your luck shall be excellent. With such an exalted name, you will require weapons to insure your good fortune." Kiyohara took the long and short swords held by an assistant. "These are the katana and wazakushi of Minamoto Yoshii, the earthly embodiment of Hachiman Taro. These are your weapons of Bushi, Yoshihide-dono." He inserted the scabbards into the girdle at Yoshihide's waist, the hilts angled to the left.
Then it was over. Wearing the clothes of a man, the young Sanematsu had the appearance of an adult. He took upon his tall, slender form the responsibilities of manhood long before it would fill out into the firm musculature of adulthood.
Kay Swanson w/a Kei Swanson
www.keiswanson.com
THE WORDS OF THE PITCHER, Genesis Press
A DRUMMER'S BEAT TO MEND, Genesis Press
EBONY EYES, Genesis Press 11/06
THE SANEMATSU SAGA, Zumaya Publications
THE SEABIRD OF SANEMATSU, Amazon.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin
To: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 3:57 PM
Subject: [samuraihistory] Newbie seeks info
Hi, I just join this group. I like to write and I love samurai; I've
been trying to mix those two together to make a decent samurai story
but I've failed miserably... So I thought that maybe I needed more
info on the Samurai and that's where you guys come in (please help
me!! *bows)
I read on the samurai archives that when kids reach the age 13 they
receive their first real sword and armor and thus become a samurai. (I
might be wrong, for I'm writing from memory, if I am please correct
me) Any of you guys know more about this ceremony? Was it only for
male 13 year olds? Once they received their real sword were they
allowed to join the 'full-fledged' samurai on the battlefield?
*Please help me if you can!!
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