Hinamatsuri#Customs

{{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}} is one of the {{nihongo|five seasonal festivals|五節句|gosekku}} that are held on auspicious dates of the Lunisolar calendar: the first day of the first month, the third day of the third month, and so on. After the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, these were fixed on 1{{nbsp}}January, 3{{nbsp}}March, 5{{nbsp}}May, 7{{nbsp}}July, and 9{{nbsp}}September. The festival was traditionally known as the {{nihongo|Peach Festival|桃の節句|Momo no Sekku}}, as peach trees typically began to flower around this time.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00031/ |title="Hinamatsuri": Japan's Doll Festival |date=27 February 2015 |website=Nippon.com |publisher=Nippon Communications Foundation |language=en |access-date=1 March 2018}} Although this is no longer true since the shift to Gregorian dates, the name remains and peaches are still symbolic of the festival.{{Cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/02/25/food/delicious-dishes-that-are-fit-for-a-princess/ |title=Delicious dishes that are fit for a princess |last=Itoh |first=Makiko |date=25 February 2011 |work=The Japan Times |access-date=1 March 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0447-5763}}

The primary aspect of {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}} is the display of seated female and male dolls (the {{nihongo3|'female doll'|女雛|mebina}} and {{nihongo3|'male doll'|男雛|obina}}), which represent a Heian period wedding, but are usually described as the Empress and Emperor of Japan.{{Cite web |url=https://people.clas.ufl.edu/jshoaf/japanese-dolls/hina/ |title=Girls' Day Dolls |last=Shoaf |first=Judy |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=1 March 2018}} The dolls are usually seated on red cloth, and may be as simple as pictures or folded paper dolls, or as intricate as carved three-dimensional dolls. More elaborate displays will include a multi-tiered {{nihongo|doll stand|雛壇|hinadan}} of dolls that represent ladies of the court, musicians, and other attendants, with all sorts of accoutrements. The entire set of dolls and accessories is called the {{nihongo||雛飾り|hinakazari}}. The number of tiers and dolls a family may have depends on their budget.

Families normally ensure that girls have a set of the two main dolls before their first {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}}. The dolls are usually fairly expensive ($1,500 to $2,500 for a five-tier set, depending on quality) and may be handed down from older generations as heirlooms. The {{tlit|ja|hinakazari}} spends most of the year in storage, and girls and their mothers begin setting up the display a few days before 3{{nbsp}}March (boys and men normally do not participate, as 5{{nbsp}}May, now Children's Day, was historically called "Boys' Day").{{Cite web |url=https://okinawa.stripes.com/news/girl-power-hina-matsuri-way |title=Girl power the Hina Matsuri way |last=Nakahara |first=Tetsuo |date=24 February 2016 |website=Stripes Okinawa |publisher=Stars and Stripes |language=en |access-date=1 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125162741/https://okinawa.stripes.com/news/girl-power-hina-matsuri-way |archive-date=25 November 2018 |url-status=dead }} Traditionally, the dolls were supposed to be put away by the day after {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}}, the superstition being that leaving the dolls any longer will result in a late marriage for the daughter,{{cite book|page=36|script-title=ja:日本事情入門 |title=Nihon jijō nyūmon |trans-title=View of Today's Japan |language=ja |first=Mizue |last=Sasaki |publisher=Alc|year=1999 |isbn= 4-87234-434-0}} but some families may leave them up for the entire month of March. Practically speaking, the encouragement to put everything away quickly is to avoid the rainy season and humidity that typically follows {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}}.

Historically, the dolls were used as toys, but in modern times they are intended for display only. The display of dolls is usually discontinued when the girls reach ten years of age.

During {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}} and the preceding days, girls hold parties with their friends. Typical foods include {{nihongo3|multi-colored rice crackers|雛あられ|hina-arare}}, {{nihongo3|raw fish and vegetables on rice in a bowl or {{tlit|ja|bento}} box|ちらし寿司|chirashizushi}}, {{nihongo3|multi-colored rice cakes|菱餅|hishi mochi}}, {{nihongo3|strawberries wrapped in adzuki bean paste|いちご大福|ichigo daifuku}}, {{nihongo||桜餅|Sakuramochi}} and {{nihongo3|clam soup, as clam shells represent a joined pair|うしお汁|ushiojiru}}. The customary drink is {{nihongo3|lit. "white sake"|白酒|shirozake}}, also called {{nihongo|lit. "sweet sake"|甘酒|amazake}}, a non-alcoholic sake.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHkyUp-EH2MC&q=hishimochi+shirozake+chirashisushi&pg=PA134|page=134|title=Gift-giving in Japan: cash, connections, cosmologies |first=Katherine |last=Rupp |publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2003 |isbn= 0-8047-4704-0}}

{{nihongo||流し雛|Nagashi-bina|{{lit|doll floating}}}} ceremonies are held around the country, where participants make dolls out of paper or straw and send them on a boat down a river, carrying one's impurities and sin with them. Some locations, such as at the Nagashibina Doll Museum in Tottori City, still follow the lunisolar calendar instead of doing it on 3{{nbsp}}March.{{Cite news |url=https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-museums/nagashibina |title=Nagashibina Doll Museum |last=Davies |first=Jake |work=JapanVisitor Japan Travel Guide |access-date=1 March 2018 |language=en}}

{{nihongo||吊るし雛|Tsurushi-Bina|{{lit|Hanging Dolls}}}}, traditional decoration for {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}}, are lengths of coloured cords (usually in red), usually featuring decorations of miniature baby-dolls, which were originally made from leftover kimono silk (so the idea of repurposing fabric scraps is central to this craft; it is a great activity for using up leftover materials). {{tlit|ja|Tsurushi-Bina}} are not limited to featuring miniature baby-dolls, but also flowers (i.e., camellia flower, etc.), shells, {{tlit|ja|Temari}} balls, colourful triangles to represent mountains (such as Mount Fuji, etc.), etc., and with tassels at the bottom.

File:Empress Kojun and Princesses.jpg attending the festival with her daughters, c. 1940]]

It is said that the first time {{tlit|ja|hina}} dolls were shown in the manner they are now as part of the Peach Festival was when the young princess Meisho succeeded to the throne of her abdicating father, Emperor Go-Mizunoo, in 1629. Because empresses regnant in Japan at the time were not allowed to get married, Meisho's mother, Tokugawa Masako, created a doll arrangement showing Meisho blissfully wedded.{{Cite book |last=Nagata |first=Hisashi |script-title=ja:年中行事を「科学」する：暦のなかの文化と知恵 |title=Nenchūgyōji o kagaku suru: Koyomi no naka no bunka to chie |trans-title=The science of annual events: Culture and wisdom in the calendar |language=ja |publisher=Nikkei BP Marketing (Nihon Keizai Shimbun Publishing) |date=March 14, 1989 |pages=72–73 |isbn=4532094798}} {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}} then officially became the name of the festival in 1687. Doll-makers began making elaborate dolls for the festival (some growing as tall as {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} high before laws were passed restricting their size). Over time, the {{tlit|ja|hinakazari}} evolved to include fifteen dolls and accessories. As dolls became more expensive, tiers were added to the {{tlit|ja|hinadan}} so that the expensive ones could be placed out of the reach of young children.

During the Meiji period as Japan began to modernize and the emperor was restored to power, {{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}} was deprecated in favor of new holidays that focused on the emperor's supposed bond with the nation. By focusing on marriage and families, it represented Japanese hopes and values. The dolls were said to represent the emperor and empress; they also fostered respect for the throne. The holiday then spread to other countries via the Japanese diaspora, although it remains confined to Japanese immigrant communities and descendants.

The actual placement order of the dolls from left to right varies according to family tradition and location, but the order of dolls per level is the same.{{Cite web |url=http://voyapon.com/hinamatsuri-day-girl/ |title=Hinamatsuri, A Day of Celebration For Girls |date=2 March 2016 |website=VOYAPON |language=en-US |access-date=1 March 2018}} The layer of covering is called {{nihongo||段掛|dankake}} or simply {{nihongo||緋毛氈|hi-mōsen}}, a red carpet with rainbow stripes at the bottom. The description that follows is for a complete set.

File:Me-bina-ETHAS 020104-P8190705-gradient.jpg|18th-century {{tlit|ja|mebina}}, Empress doll, on display at Musée d'ethnographie de Genève

File:O-bina-ETHAS 020105-P8190707-gradient.jpg|18th century {{tlit|ja|obina}}, Emperor doll, on display at Musée d'ethnographie de Genève

File:Hinamatsuri store display.jpg|{{tlit|ja|Hinamatsuri}} store display in Seattle, Washington, featuring all 7 tiers.

File:HinaDolls-Emperor-Empress-topplatform2011.jpg|An Emperor doll with an Empress doll, in front of a gold screen. The optional lampstands are also partially visible.

File:Hinamatsuridolls2010.ogv|(video) A five platform doll set.

File:Kanzo-Yashiki_Tsurushibina.A.JPG|{{tlit|ja|Tsurushibina}} is a variation of the traditional {{tlit|ja|Hina-Ningyō}} dolls (Kanzo-Yashiki, Kōshū, Yamanashi Prefecture).

The top tier holds two dolls, known as {{nihongo|imperial dolls|内裏雛|dairi-bina}}. The word {{tlit|ja|dairi}} means "imperial palace". These are the {{tlit|ja|obina}} holding a {{nihongo|ritual baton|笏|shaku}} and {{tlit|ja|mebina}} holding a fan. The pair are also known as {{nihongo||殿|tono}} and {{nihongo||姫|hime}} (lord and princess) or {{nihongo||御内裏様|Odairi-sama}} and {{nihongo||御雛様|Ohina-sama}} (honored palace official and honored doll).{{cite news |script-title=ja:捨てたいのに広まった 「うれしいひなまつり」 |title=Sutetai no ni hiromatta "Ureshī Hinamatsuri" |trans-title="Happy Hinamatsuri" has spread even though people want to throw it away |date=2 March 2012 |newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302122526/http://www.asahi.com/shopping/tabibito/TKY201203010324.html |archive-date=2 March 2012 |url=http://www.asahi.com/shopping/tabibito/TKY201203010324.html |url-status=dead |language=ja}} Although they are sometimes referred to as the Emperor and Empress, they only represent the positions and not particular individuals themselves (with the exception of some dolls from the Meiji Era that actually depict Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken). The two are usually placed in front of a gold folding screen {{nihongo||屏風|byōbu}} and placed beside green Japanese garden trees.

Optional are the two lampstands, called {{nihongo||雪洞|bonbori}},{{cite web |title="Bonbori" no imi ya tsukaikata, wakari yasuku kaisetsu -- Weblio Jisho |trans-title=The meaning and usage of "bonbori", explained in simple terms -- Weblio Dictionary |script-title=ja:「ぼんぼり」の意味や使い方 わかりやすく解説 Weblio辞書 |url=http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%BC%E3%82%93%E3%81%BC%E3%82%8A |access-date=3 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929012125/http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%BC%E3%82%93%E3%81%BC%E3%82%8A |archive-date=29 September 2023 |url-status=live |publisher=Weblio |language=ja}} and the paper or silk lanterns that are known as {{nihongo||火袋|hibukuro}}, which are usually decorated with cherry or plum blossom patterns.

Complete sets would include accessories placed between the two figures, known as {{nihongo||三方飾|sanbō kazari}},{{cite web |title="Sanbō (sanpō)" no imi ya tsukaikata, wakari yasuku kaisetsu -- Weblio Jisho |trans-title=The meaning and usage of "sanbō/sanpō", explained in simple terms -- Weblio Dictionary |script-title=ja:「三方(サンポウ)」の意味や使い方 わかりやすく解説 Weblio辞書 |url=https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E4%B8%89%E6%96%B9 |publisher=Weblio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528005544/https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E4%B8%89%E6%96%B9 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |url-status=live |language=ja}} composing of two vases of artificial {{nihongo|peach branches|口花|kuchibana}}.{{cite web |title=Kuchibana to wa nani? Wakari yasuku kaisetsu -- Weblio Jisho |script-title=ja:口花とは何？ わかりやすく解説 Weblio辞書 |trans-title=What is kuchibana? Explained in simple terms -- Weblio Dictionary |url=http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E5%8F%A3%E8%8A%B1 |publisher=Weblio |language=ja}}

Generally speaking, the Kansai style arrangement has the male on the right, while Kantō style arrangements have him on the left (from the viewer's perspective).

The second tier holds three court ladies {{nihongo||三人官女|san-nin kanjo}} who serve sake to the male and female dolls. Commonly, two dolls are standing on both sides of one seated doll, but there are people who use two seated dolls on both sides of one standing doll.

The doll on the viewer's left bears a {{nihongo|short-handled sake decanter|加えの銚子|Kuwae no chōshi}}. The one on the viewer's right holds a {{nihongo|long-handled sake decanter|長柄の銚子|Nagae no chōshi}}. The doll in the middle carries different items in Kyoto compared with the rest of Japan. In Kyoto, the middle doll carries a {{nihongo|small platform used in celebratory decorations|島台|Shimadai}} upon which is something auspicious such as {{nihongo|the Three Friends of Winter|松竹梅|Shōchikubai}}; whereas in the rest of Japan, she carries a {{nihongo|small table|三方|Sanpō}} upon which a sake cup is rested.

Accessories placed between the ladies are {{nihongo||高坏|takatsuki}}, stands with round table-tops for seasonal sweets, excluding {{tlit|ja|hishi mochi}}.

The third tier holds five male musicians {{nihongo||五人囃子|gonin bayashi}}. Each holds a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan:{{Cite web |url=http://zoomingjapan.com/culture/hina-matsuri/ |title=Hina Matsuri (The Doll's Festival) |date=3 March 2013 |website=Zooming Japan |language=en-US |access-date=1 March 2018}}

1. {{nihongo|Small drum|太鼓|Taiko}}, seated,
2. {{nihongo|Large drum|大鼓|Ōtsuzumi}}, standing,
3. {{nihongo|Hand drum|小鼓|Kotsuzumi}}, standing,
4. {{nihongo|Flute|笛|Fue}}, or {{nihongo||横笛|Yokobue}}, seated,
5. {{nihongo|Singer|謡い方|Utaikata}}, holding a {{nihongo|folding fan|扇子|sensu}}, standing.

There are ancient sets with seven or ten musicians and at least one with female musicians.

Two {{nihongo|ministers|大臣|daijin}} may be displayed on the fourth tier. These may be the emperor's bodyguards or administrators in Kyoto: the {{nihongo|Minister of the Right|右大臣|Udaijin}} and the {{nihongo|Minister of the Left|左大臣|Sadaijin}}. Both are sometimes equipped with bows and arrows. When representing the ministers, the Minister of the Right is depicted as a young person, while the Minister of the Left is older because that position was the more senior of the two. Also, because the dolls are placed in positions relative to each other, the Minister of the Right will be on "stage right" (the viewer's left) and the Minister of the Left will be on the other side.

Between the two figures are covered {{nihongo|bowl tables|掛盤膳|kakebanzen}}, also referred to as {{nihongo||お膳|o-zen}}, as well as {{nihongo|diamond-shaped stands|菱台|hishidai}} bearing diamond-shaped hishi mochi.

Just below the ministers: on the rightmost, a {{nihongo|mandarin orange tree|右近の橘|Ukon no tachibana}}, and on the leftmost, a {{nihongo|cherry blossom tree|左近の桜|Sakon no sakura}}.

The fifth tier, between the plants, holds three {{nihongo|helpers|仕丁|shichō}} or {{nihongo|protectors|衛士|eji}} of the Emperor and Empress:

In the Kyōto style, from the viewer's left to right the dolls are:

1. Crying drinker {{nihongo||泣き上戸|nakijōgo}} bearing a {{nihongo|rake|熊手|kumade}},
2. Angry drinker {{nihongo||怒り上戸|okorijōgo}} bearing a {{nihongo|dustpan|ちり取り|chiritori}}, and
3. Laughing drinker {{nihongo||笑い上戸|waraijōgo}} bearing a {{nihongo|broom|箒|houki}}

In the Kantō style used in the rest of Japan, from the viewer's left to right the dolls are:

1. Angry drinker {{nihongo||怒り上戸|okorijōgo}} bearing an {{nihongo|umbrella hat|台笠|daikasa}} at the end of a pole,
2. Crying drinker {{nihongo||泣き上戸|nakijōgo}} bearing a {{nihongo|shoe platform|沓台|kutsudai}}, and
3. Laughing drinker {{nihongo||笑い上戸|waraijōgo}} bearing an {{nihongo|umbrella|立傘|tachigasa}}

On the sixth and seventh tiers, various miniature furniture, tools, carriages, etc., are displayed.

These are items used within the palatial residence.

• {{nihongo||箪笥|tansu}}: chest of (usually five) drawers, sometimes with swinging outer covering doors.
• {{nihongo||長持|nagamochi}}: long chest for kimono storage.
• {{nihongo||挟箱|hasamibako}}: smaller clothing storage box, placed on top of nagamochi.
• {{nihongo||鏡台|kyōdai}}: literally mirror stand, a smaller chest of drawers with a mirror on top.
• {{nihongo||針箱|haribako}}: sewing kit box.
• two {{nihongo||火鉢|hibachi}}: braziers.
• {{nihongo||台子|daisu}}: a set of {{nihongo||お茶道具|ocha dōgu}} or {{nihongo||茶の湯道具|cha no yu dōgu}}, utensils for the tea ceremony.

These are items used when away from the palatial residence.

• {{nihongo||重箱|jubako}}, a set of nested lacquered food boxes with either a cord tied vertically around the boxes or a stiff handle that locks them together.
• {{tlit|ja|gokago}} ({{lang|ja|御駕籠}} or {{lang|ja|御駕篭}}, a palanquin.
• {{nihongo||御所車|goshoguruma}}, an ox-drawn carriage favored by Heian nobility. This last is sometimes known as {{tlit|ja|gisha}} or {{tlit|ja|gyuusha}} ({{lang|ja|牛車}}).
• Less common, {{nihongo||花車|hanaguruma}}, an ox drawing a cart of flowers.

{{Portal|Japan}}

• Golu – a similar tradition in India
• Hōko (doll) – A talisman doll, given to young women of age and especially to pregnant women in Japan to protect both mother and unborn child.
• International Day of the Girl Child
• International Women's Day
• Japanese dolls
• Japanese festivals
• Japanese traditional dolls
• Karakuri puppet – Japanese clockwork automata.
• Katashiro
• Public holidays in Japan
• Tango no Sekku
• Yurihonjo hinakaido – an annual trail of hina doll displays in Yurihonjo City

{{Reflist}}

• Ishii, Minako (2007). Girls' Day/Boys' Day. Honolulu: Bess Press Inc. {{ISBN|1-57306-274-X}}. A children's picture book.
• Murguia, Salvador Jimenez (2011). [https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Hinamatsuri-and-the-Japanese-female%3A-a-critical-of-Murguia/8928bd7d911b8c39af5750d56458c6595af435e3 "Hinamatsuri and the Japanese Female: A Critical Interpretation of the Japanese Doll Festival"]. Journal of Asia Pacific Studies 2.2: 231–247.
• Pate, Alan Scott (2013). Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll. Tuttle Publishing.

{{Commons and category}}

• [http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa022501a.htm Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival)] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010043530/http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa022501a.htm |date=10 October 2009}})
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110927/http://shahjahansiraj.com/hinamatsuri/ Hinamatsuri in Sado, Niigata, Japan (Doll's Festival)]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAWh2mxF-20/ Video on Hinamatsuri (Hinamatsuri Girls' Day | Doll's Festival)]

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Category:Japanese dolls

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