"Hinamatsuri"(Doll festival)

Doll festival is a traditional Japanese event observed on March 3rd to wish girl's growth and happiness, and it is also called Momo no sekku, or peach festival. This came from the reason that hinamatsuri is an annual event during the season of peach blossoms, and a peach tree has long been regarded as one of the spiritual trees, which scare off demons and it symbolizes the power of life, agelessness and peace. In modern hinamatsuri, many families with girl members display hina dolls (a set of dolls representing emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians in ancient court dress), along with peach blossoms, hina-arare(traditional Japanese crackers), hishimochi(a set of diamond shaped rice cakes),and shirozake(made with rice malt and sake), and wish good health of the family's girls. In addition, the first hinamatsuri for a baby girl is called hatsuzekku(the first hina festival),and the family specially wishes her a healthy growth.

The origin of hinamatsuri was an ancient Chinese custom in which people transferred his/her worldly sins and misfortune to a doll, and floated it on a river in order to ward off evil spirits. This custom was brought to Japan in the middle of the Heian period (794-1191), which became a Japanese event called joushi no sekku to wish good health of the people. This was translated as a fortune-teller called onmyouji praying and offering seasonal food to the God of the Heaven and Earth, and floated paper dolls in which had been transferred people's misfortunes on a river or the sea. It is said that the original style of a hinamatsuri is the combination between the custom and a play of children called hiina-asobi in the Heian period: hiina refers to a doll, hiina-asobi does a play using dolls, and dolls in this period was made of paper. In the Muromachi period (1392-1573) this festival was fixed on March 3rd, and in the Edo period (1603-1867) luxurious hina dolls replaced paper dolls, and the imperial people displayed them and held a great celebration in the imperial court. The event became widespread among feudal societies, wealthy merchant families, and then common people, and it has continued since as an annual event.

By the way, hinaarare, hishimochi, and shirozake which are things displayed together with hina dolls have its own meaning. Hinaarare refers to a pack of white, red, and green small sweets, and white symbolizes the earth, red does life, and green does trees. So it is believed that if people eat them, their bodies can receive the three energies and ward off disaster and disease. Moreover, shirozake has a meaning of purifying people's body like the color of this white sake. Hisimochi is made of three different colors of layered diamond shaped rice cakes. The colors are green, white, and peach from the bottom. This symbolizes green of the earth with flourishing grasses, pure white of snow, and the color of peach blossoms. It is said that it represents scenery that in a season shortly before spring, green grasses begin to bud under snow, and peach blossoms starts sprouting. This hinamatsuri event has continued and been widely practiced throughout Japan. Although a hinamatsuri event observed by displaying beautiful hina dolls is the common style, there are also regions that hold an ancient custom including nagashibina in Tottori prefecture where people float simple paper dolls on a pristine river. All hinamaturi events wishes for children's healthy growth. These events like hinamatsuri deserves preservation and passing on to future generations. (end)

Key Word

English	Japanese	English	Japanese
observe		feudal
annual		merchant
regard		purify
spiritual		layer
scare off		flourishing
agelessness		bud
along with		sprout
sin		pristine
misfortune		deserve
ward off		preservation