Girl's Day, Hinamatsuri
Every year on March 3rd is celebrated as Hinamatsuri, the Doll Festival, also known as Girl's Day. It is a recognized event across Japan, but it's not a holiday, so no time off! Teaching at an all-girls school gave me a good idea of what exactly Girl's Day entails, so I shall share that insight with you!
During February, families with young girls will start decorating in preparation for Girl's Day. These decorations primarily consist of hina dolls. Many, but not all, families will have a set of hina dolls that will go on display until Girl's Day. In keeping with tradition, these displays should be taken down at the end of the day on March 3rd, because if one waits too long to take them down, it can foretell a late marriage for the girl. My school has its own display of hina dolls set up in the building, and I saw a display at a shopping mall as well, but neither of those were not taken down at the end of the 3rd, nor on the 4th, so it's not necessarily a strictly adhered-to rule, at least in terms of public areas.
But the dolls are not the only aspect of the day. Girl's Day is to wish health and good fortune for the young girls of Japan, and this is often accompanied by certain foods such as rice cakes, sakura mochi (which is incredibly sweet, I tried some, it's not for me) and chirashizushi, a type of sushi mixed with vegetables, fish, and egg, and apparently very delicious according to my students.
There's also a traditional song that goes along with the day, which some of my students sang for me in class! It roughly translates as:
Let's light the lanterns, let's set peach flowers
Five court musicians playing flutes and drums
Today is a joyful Hinamatsuri!
That's the general overview of the day, but let me explain the hina doll display a little more.
Above is the display from my school, the dolls are standard but it has the full range of accessories which are not always found among household sets. If a set is not handed down from generation to generation, parents tend to buy the dolls one at a time each year, or in smaller homes they just have the two dolls at the top. Full sets of high-quality hina dolls are sought by collectors, and if I had any hope of collecting them at all, I'd try to get them, but they can be REALLY expensive! The dolls are all dressed in Heian Period (794-1185) costume common of members of the imperial court during the time, though the practice of displaying dolls on this day didn't start until the Edo Period (1615-1868). The display itself is about 4ft tall, and the platforms are covered with a red carpet. The bottom fringe of the carpet, which you can't see in this picture, is multicolored.
Top row: Probably the most important part of the whole display are the imperial dolls, the Emperor (Obina) and Empress (Mebina), seated in front of a golden folding screen. On either side are lanterns, and in between the couple are branches of peach trees.
Second row: Just below the imperial dolls are the three court ladies. They hold items for serving sake, and between the dolls are small stands of sweets, likely mochi in this case. From the viewer's perspective, the standing woman on the right is the main sake bearer (nagae no choushi), the standing woman on the left is the back-up sake bearer (kuwae no choushi), and the woman in the middle is the seated sake bearer (sanpou).
Third row: The next row contains the five court musicians, all males. Three of them play drums. The seated one plays a small drum (taiko), and the two standing play the large drum (oustuzumi) and hand drum (kotsuzumi). The other player, seated, plays a flute, and the last is the standing singer who holds a fan.
Fourth row: Next are the ministers, and these dolls are on either side of the platform. The Minister of the Right (Udaijin) is young while the Minister of the Left (Sadaijin) is older (from the perspective of the display, not the viewer). Between them are two tables with covered bowls, and two diamond-shaped stands for holding rice cakes.
Fifth row: Directly below the Minister of the Right is a mandarin tree, and below the Minister of the Left is a cherry blossom tree. Between those trees are three dolls, protectors of the Emperor and Empress. From the viewer's perspective, the one on the left is the maudlin drinker (nakijougo), the middle is the cantankerous drinker (okorijougo), and the one on the right is the merry drinker (waraijougo).
Sixth row: This row holds accessory items used within the palace residence. Starting on the left, there is a large chest of drawers (tansu), a longer and lower chest for holding kimono (nagamochi) with two smaller clothing boxes (hasamibako) on top, a mirror stand with drawers (kyoudai), a sewing kit (haribako), a set of tools (daisu) for performing the tea ceremony, two braziers (hibachi), and finally a small wrapped bag (which is kind of cut out of the picture) on the far right for holding other items of clothing for the Empress.
Seventh row: Like the previous row, the last row holds accessory items as well, but these are ones used when away from the palace residence. From the left, there is a palanquin (gokago), a set of nested food boxes (jubako) tied together with a cord, and finally an ox-drawn carriage (goshoguruma).
As you can see, even without all the accessory pieces present here, the hina doll display is an incredible thing! Everything has a proper place and everything is incredibly detailed. If you are ever in Japan in the month of February, I recommend looking for these displays in big shopping centers, you won't be disappointed!
During February, families with young girls will start decorating in preparation for Girl's Day. These decorations primarily consist of hina dolls. Many, but not all, families will have a set of hina dolls that will go on display until Girl's Day. In keeping with tradition, these displays should be taken down at the end of the day on March 3rd, because if one waits too long to take them down, it can foretell a late marriage for the girl. My school has its own display of hina dolls set up in the building, and I saw a display at a shopping mall as well, but neither of those were not taken down at the end of the 3rd, nor on the 4th, so it's not necessarily a strictly adhered-to rule, at least in terms of public areas.
But the dolls are not the only aspect of the day. Girl's Day is to wish health and good fortune for the young girls of Japan, and this is often accompanied by certain foods such as rice cakes, sakura mochi (which is incredibly sweet, I tried some, it's not for me) and chirashizushi, a type of sushi mixed with vegetables, fish, and egg, and apparently very delicious according to my students.
There's also a traditional song that goes along with the day, which some of my students sang for me in class! It roughly translates as:
Let's light the lanterns, let's set peach flowers
Five court musicians playing flutes and drums
Today is a joyful Hinamatsuri!
That's the general overview of the day, but let me explain the hina doll display a little more.
Above is the display from my school, the dolls are standard but it has the full range of accessories which are not always found among household sets. If a set is not handed down from generation to generation, parents tend to buy the dolls one at a time each year, or in smaller homes they just have the two dolls at the top. Full sets of high-quality hina dolls are sought by collectors, and if I had any hope of collecting them at all, I'd try to get them, but they can be REALLY expensive! The dolls are all dressed in Heian Period (794-1185) costume common of members of the imperial court during the time, though the practice of displaying dolls on this day didn't start until the Edo Period (1615-1868). The display itself is about 4ft tall, and the platforms are covered with a red carpet. The bottom fringe of the carpet, which you can't see in this picture, is multicolored.
Top row: Probably the most important part of the whole display are the imperial dolls, the Emperor (Obina) and Empress (Mebina), seated in front of a golden folding screen. On either side are lanterns, and in between the couple are branches of peach trees.
Second row: Just below the imperial dolls are the three court ladies. They hold items for serving sake, and between the dolls are small stands of sweets, likely mochi in this case. From the viewer's perspective, the standing woman on the right is the main sake bearer (nagae no choushi), the standing woman on the left is the back-up sake bearer (kuwae no choushi), and the woman in the middle is the seated sake bearer (sanpou).
Third row: The next row contains the five court musicians, all males. Three of them play drums. The seated one plays a small drum (taiko), and the two standing play the large drum (oustuzumi) and hand drum (kotsuzumi). The other player, seated, plays a flute, and the last is the standing singer who holds a fan.
Fourth row: Next are the ministers, and these dolls are on either side of the platform. The Minister of the Right (Udaijin) is young while the Minister of the Left (Sadaijin) is older (from the perspective of the display, not the viewer). Between them are two tables with covered bowls, and two diamond-shaped stands for holding rice cakes.
Fifth row: Directly below the Minister of the Right is a mandarin tree, and below the Minister of the Left is a cherry blossom tree. Between those trees are three dolls, protectors of the Emperor and Empress. From the viewer's perspective, the one on the left is the maudlin drinker (nakijougo), the middle is the cantankerous drinker (okorijougo), and the one on the right is the merry drinker (waraijougo).
Sixth row: This row holds accessory items used within the palace residence. Starting on the left, there is a large chest of drawers (tansu), a longer and lower chest for holding kimono (nagamochi) with two smaller clothing boxes (hasamibako) on top, a mirror stand with drawers (kyoudai), a sewing kit (haribako), a set of tools (daisu) for performing the tea ceremony, two braziers (hibachi), and finally a small wrapped bag (which is kind of cut out of the picture) on the far right for holding other items of clothing for the Empress.
Seventh row: Like the previous row, the last row holds accessory items as well, but these are ones used when away from the palace residence. From the left, there is a palanquin (gokago), a set of nested food boxes (jubako) tied together with a cord, and finally an ox-drawn carriage (goshoguruma).
As you can see, even without all the accessory pieces present here, the hina doll display is an incredible thing! Everything has a proper place and everything is incredibly detailed. If you are ever in Japan in the month of February, I recommend looking for these displays in big shopping centers, you won't be disappointed!
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