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I was looking at the following sentence under a picture that I unfortunately
cannot provide:

> 七五三のしゃしんです。

I believe the sentence reads "It's a picture of 753"... which doesn't make
sense.

I know that we have the numbers here 七 (7), 五 (5) and 三 (3). However, I don't
believe numbers are structured like this in Japanese, as far as I know.
Methinks this sentence is trying to say the number 753, but in Japanese,
wouldn't that be instead written as 七百五十三?

Am I wrong, am I merely interpreting this incorrectly, or is there another
problem I am overlooking? May someone please help me and correct me if I am
wrong?

ありがとうございます。
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2019-02-26T22:21:31.480
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question
translation meaning usage syntax numbers
What is the meaning of 七五三 in the sentence, 七五三のしゃしんです。
Just to make a proper answer, 七五三 (read “shichi-go-san”, _not_ “nana-go-San”)
refers to a traditional Japanese festival and is used in the literal meaning
“seven, five, three”. [From Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shichi-
Go-San):

> Shichi-Go-San (七五三, lit. "Seven-Five-Three") is a traditional rite of
> passage and festival day in Japan for three- and seven-year-old girls and
> five-year-old (and less commonly three-year-old) boys, held annually on
> November 15 to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children.

At a guess, the sentence refers to someone’s photo from this festival.

By the way, it’s not the case here but long numbers written out positionally
with Kanji for numbers (plus ○ for zero) without 千、百、十 etc. do happen in
Japanese (e.g. in price lists) although they’re rare in spoken speech AFAIK.
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answer
**Shichi-Go-San (七五三)** is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in
Japan, held annually on November 15, in which three- and seven-year-old girls
and five-year-old (and less commonly three-year-old) boys, along with their
parents, visit shrines to pray for their growth and well-being. As it is not a
national holiday, it is generally observed on the nearest weekend.

It’s a tradition going back at least a thousand years to the Heian period,
when nobles would celebrate their offspring’s transition from childhood to
middle childhood.

Following the visit, parents generally buy **Chitose-ame (千歳飴)** for the
children. The candy is shaped like a stick and comes in a bag that carries
illustrations of cranes and turtles--two animals that are symbols of long
life. Chitose literally means a thousand years and is used to denote very long
periods of time. The candy and the bag are both expressions of parents' wish
that their children lead long, prosperous lives.

The shichi-go-san ceremonies held to celebrate the child's growth are not
always carried out anymore. Nowadays they are often replaced by just a visit
to the shrine to express gratitude and pray for the child's future. Another
modern trend is for parents to take the opportunity to have their child
photographed in ceremonial finery, and send the photos out to friends and
family.
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answer