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The Shichi-Go-San is a haiku-like poem form consisting of 3 lines with 7, 5, and 3 syllables. It's based on the traditional rite of passage ceremonies for young children (three- and seven-year-old for girls, five- and sometimes three-year-old for boys) in Japan.
Its origins date back to the Heian period (794 to 1185) - where infant and child mortality was still very high - to celebrate the child's festival. However, the dates wasn't formalized until Edo period, with the coming of age of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.
In Japanese numerology, odd numbers are often viewed as "luckier" than even numbers (except for 9, because it rhymes with a word that means "suffering"), hence why ages 3, 5, and 7 are considered significant milestones for the children's growth.
Here are some variations of the shichi-go-san forms I've written.
7-5-3 syllable stanza (example: koinobori)
Koinobori, which literally means carp streamers, is a carp-shaped windsocks traditionally flown to celebrate Children's Day. In Chinese folklore, carp that swim up a waterfall can become a dragon, so the koinobori becomes an emblem of determination, courage, and hope that the child can grow healthily.
3-5-7 syllable stanza (example: wind chimes - https://www.wattpad.com/1521962960-aposiopesis-3-wind-chimes)
Based on the Koshi chimes, a series of bamboo chimes invented by a French artisan that has four distinct melodic tunings based on the four elements (water, wood, fire, wind). Wind chimes are often used as symbols of harmony - a colaboration between wood and wind, movement and sound. Much like growth
3-5-7 to 7-5-3 syllable mirror stanza (example: chrysalis - https://www.wattpad.com/1548803283-aposiopesis-9-chrysalis)
Insects, especially butterflies, have long been a symbol for rebirth and transformation, and the pupal (chrysalis) stage serve as a hinge to this potential emergence. This hope for ascendance is both delicate (woven silk) but also strongly protective (gold, metallic armor).
7-5-3 to 3-5-7 syllable mirror stanza (example: silk ceremony - https://www.wattpad.com/1536323464-the-wandering-wayfinder-silk-ceremony-shichi-go)
This poem is the embodiment of its inspiration, focusing on the final milestone. The seventh year marks the point where a girl begins to enter womanhood. During the celebration, the girl is given a obi (a sash used to tie the kimono), replacing the childhood strings. The ribbons on her hair is a callback to the previous milestone. During those days, children's hair are typically shaved to prevent lice and disease, and the three-year-old festival serves as a ritual to stop this practice and allow the girl's hair to grow out.
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