Hinamatsuri
March 3rd is Hinamatsuri, or Festival of Dolls, here in Japan. Not only was my 
favourite private student, Yoshiko's weekly journal write-up about this event, but Yanagida-San, the mother of three of my **favourite** students also came by class to tell me about it. Combined with notes by Jody and stolen photographs of a display at my Friday school, Shiraume, I am learning a great deal about this, one of the most noted, traditional Japanese ceremony.Families with daughters
celebrate March 3rd by displaying hina dolls on a stepped shelf to express the wish for their daughters' good health and growth. The dolls are dressed in gorgeous kimono modeled after those worn by women in the ancient Heian court. Hina (Empress) and dairi (Emporer) sit on the top shelf, followed by sannin-kanjo (three ladies of the court), gonin-bayashi (five court musicians), suishin (escorts) and eji (guards).In the homes, nagashibina is performed; traditionally this involved floating special origami dolls (called hinaninzyo) and peach blossoms in the river and consuming arare (a rice treat, much like
corn pops cereal) and a specific type of white sake known as nihonshu. Today the tradition involves displaying the magnificant dolls for a few weeks, eating the aforementioned arare and tirashizuzhi, a certain type of sushi.It is said, if the dolls are not timely and properly returned to storage after Hinamatsuri, that daughters will have difficulty marrying at an appropriate age, and may never marry at all! So THAT's my problem!! hehe
Apologies for blurry photos - I've only my keitai camera.
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