By bringing 菖蒲 (pronounced "shobu") (iris) and '尚武' (pronounced "shobu") (martial spirit) together, it became the annual event in which to pray for a male child's success and longer fortune of war among samurai families.
武家では菖蒲と「尚武」と結びつけて男児の立身出世・武運長久を祈る年中行事となった。