HINA MATSURI
Doll Festival or Momo-no-sekku or Joushi-no-sekku

March 3rd



Hina-matsuri is a festival for girls to wish their happiness and good health.
Hina ningyo (dolls representing the Emperor and Empress,
and nobles in the Imperial Palace in the Heian period)
are set up in the home, as shown in the pictures above,
by most families that have daughters.
The dolls are offered hina-arare (sweetened puffed rice), hishi-mochi
( diamond-shaped rice cakes ) and shirozake ( sweet sticky fragrant white sake ).


top (left) Empress/ ohinasama <---- > (right) Emperor/odairisama
Kyoto or Osaka arrangement (traditional way)
In Kanto area (Tokyo area), they arrange opposite way
2nd Three court ladies ( sannin kanjo )
(left) with "hisage提 ", (center) with "sambo三方", (right) with "choshi銚子"
The lady sit in the center doesn't have eyebrows because she is married.
3rd Court band/( gonin bayashi )
(left) with taiko/drum 太鼓, with O-tsuzumi/Okawa大鼓, (center) Kotsudumi/Kokawa小鼓,
fue/flute笛, (right) utai/singer謡
4th Two ministers/( zuijin )
Generally they are called "U-daijin (minister of the right) and Sa-daijin" (minister of the left).
However, actually, they are officers who guard the Palace gates, etc.
(left)Udaijin [young one], (right) Sadaijin[old one]
5th Three court officials/(jichou, shitei or shichou)
(Left) Daigasa台傘parasol, (center) kutsudai 沓台stool、(right)Tategasa 立傘/umbrella
6th miniature furniture
7th litter and ox-drawn imperial coach
extra ichimatsu-dolls
Hina dolls ( Hina ningyou ) They are arranged on several tiers of
shelves covered with red fablic.or hi-mousen


how to arrange Hina-Ningyo dolls



tachi-bina


************

hishi-mochi


Kaiawase





The family, sometimes with invited friends of their daughters', cerebrate with a meal like
Chirashi-zushi ( a bowl of sushi rice arranged a layer of sliced raw fish and vegetables).

The origin of this festival came from a court custom
and a game which was played by girls with paper hina dolls in Heian period.
The courtiers called in diviners on the third day of the third month in the lunar calendar
to exorcise their impurities and troubles, transferring them to the paper images, called katashiro,
which were then floated away down the river .
This custom became associated with the paper dolls with which　
girls played at that time.
The practice of displaying dolls on shelves like in the photo above began
in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867).



Hina Matsuri Event in and around Nagoya