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Hina-matsuri
It’s the festival of dolls, a day dedicated to girls that’s celebrated in Japan every year. |
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 A complete Ohina-sama set, with a 7-tiered platform |
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What is Hina-matsuri?
When I was a girl, the tradition of decorating Ohina-sama dolls with my mother was a special event that we celebrated each year at home. These are traditional Japanese dolls, and people start decorating them towards the end of February. They are so pretty that, while they were on display, I would never tire of spending countless hours staring at them completely enraptured.
Hina-matsuri is celebrated in Japan on March 3rd. It’s a festival of dolls specially dedicated to girls. The word Hina means small and pretty in Japanese, Maturi means holiday and Sama means Mrs. or Madame.
How is Hina-matsuri celebrated?
Although it’s not a bank holiday, you can experience this tradition in every corner of Japan. When I was at preschool, we would make paper dolls and sing Ohina-Sama songs. We had a special menu for lunch, a plate of sushi and some traditional cookies. At home, Japanese mothers make a special sushi for dinner called Chirashi-zushi and they also serve Shiro-zake, a white sake.
What are Ohina-sama dolls like?
They’re dressed in traditional kimonos and you place them on a multi-tiered platform, like an altar. They represent people from the imperial court of the Heian era. The most important of these are the emperor and the empress, who are on the top of the platform. They are followed by the princesses, a music band, the bodyguards and their assistants. They cost about 1,500 Euros and some people spend over 10,000 Euros.
Anecdotes and legends
It is said that if these dolls remain on the platform longer than necessary, the girl will end up becoming a spinster. But, actually, they’re put away so they won’t get moldy, because the rainy season begins around this time of year.
In olden times, Ohina-sama dolls were an essential element of the dowry for any woman about to marry. The dolls were thought capable of harboring evil spirits in their bodies, thus sparing their owner potentially dangerous encounters.
Hina-matsuri songs and videos
In schools, girls put on performances and sing traditional songs to celebrate Hina-matsuri. You can see some girls performing in this video. Click here to watch it.
The second video is of "Minimoni", a music group. Their song is somewhat more modern. Click here to watch it.
Wikipedia JP Link
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