{
  "id": 17385066,
  "title": "Kimono-clad pets blessed at Japan festival lacking enough kids",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/kimono-clad-pets-blessed-at-japan-festival-lacking-enough-kids",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-31T10:43:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1567722/kimono-clad-pets-blessed-japan-festival-lacking-enough-kids"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "TOKYO - At a Shinto shrine in Japan, a priest blessed cats and Yorkshire terriers during the annual Shichi-Go-San festival, a tradition typically held for children. With Japan's population declining, more people are bringing their beloved animals to the event instead. Shoko Kodama, a 46-year-old doctor, brought her five-year-old British shorthair, Amber, who had been adorned in a handmade bright-red kimono. Kodama expressed that her pet felt like her child, providing solace in her life. Other pet owners dressed their furry companions in colorful kimonos for photos, before bringing them to the inner sanctuary for a purification rite. Kenji Kaji, the priest, noted the changing role of pets in Japanese families due to shifts in family structure, increased demand from pet owners, and a record low fertility rate in Japan.",
  "summary": "TOKYO: Chanting and swishing a wooden wand, a Japanese priest blessed a cat, a shiba inu and several Yorkshire terriers at a shrine in Tokyo on Saturday, in a rite usually reserved for children.",
  "key_points": [
    "Priest blessed pets during Shichi-Go-San festival at Shinto shrine.",
    "Cats and Yorkshire terriers adorned in handmade kimonos.",
    "Pet owners seek solace, family structure shifts, and low fertility rate."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}