Hinamatsuri

Hey everybody!

Today, I'd like to talk about Hinamatsuri. Also known as "Doll's Day" or "Girls' Day", Hinamatsuri is a special day celebrated on March 3rd (so you can tell this post is a couple weeks late).

Hinamatsuri has always been traditionally celebrated with the use of dolls. The word "hina" 雛 itself means "doll". In the olden days, paper or straw dolls were made and floated down rivers. It was believed that the dolls could contain bad luck, so floating them down the river was a way to remove bad luck. Since these dolls ended up being snared in fishermen's nets, this practice is no longer continued.

These days, Himanatsuri is widely celebrated through the arrangement of a large doll display. These dolls represent the imperial house, and are placed on a large 7 tiered platform.

Platform to the right, and partially assembled dolls in the foreground.

After a short trip into the nearby shrine to have a ritual prayer performed, we began to dress and ornament the dolls with their respective hats, weapons, and accessories. We then placed each doll in their respective place.

Musicians and Court Ladies

Soldiers and Ministers

I had the honor of re-tying a hat onto one the musicians after somebody else pulled it loose. With the tiny string and the tight quarters, it was like brain surgery. Everyone watched and waited as I tried my best to finish it quickly.

Everyone doing their share.

To be honest, even the old Japanese folk weren't quite sure what went where, but this is how it is supposed to be arranged:

Top Tier: Emperor and Empress
Second Tier: 3 court ladies w/ sake equipment
Third Tier: 5 musicians (3 drummers, a flautist, and a singer)
Fourth Tier: 2 ministers
Fifth Tier: 3 soldiers/samurai
Sixth Tier: furniture
Bottom Tier: lacquered boxes, a palanquin, and an ox-drawn carriage

The completed display.

After completing the display, we listened to some bamboo flute music from the priests at the shrine. I would upload it, but it was pretty grating and out of tune, so I'll spare you.

Finally, we helped prepare some food to match the occasion. Using rice colored pink with food coloring and salmon flakes, we rolled some sushi in the shape of a peach flower. Peach flowers are usually representative for girls, while cherry blossoms represent boys. Some of the other housewives made rolls with hot dogs and cucumbers in the shape of peaches.

Our flower sushi.

Fancy peach-shaped sushi rolls.

We also drank some clam soup, which is also a popular food on Hinamatsuri. It is said that clam shells represent a perfect marriage, because no two shell halves fit together perfectly except the ones from the same clam. After that, we watched as everyone took down the doll display we had just worked hard to put up. Apparently, leaving a display up after Hinamatsuri ends means that the daughter of the house will have a late marriage.

That's all for this time!