Funday Times

The Japanese Doll Festival (Hinamatsuri)
One of the most colourful and appealing children's festivals in the world is Hinamatsuri or Doll Festival, celebrated annually on March 3. It is also known as Girls Day Festival. It is the day the Japanese celebrate their daughters' healthy growth and good fortune.

The origin of the Doll Festival is vague but it is believed to have begun more than a thousand years ago as a religious observance, at the beginning of spring. The religious influence is still felt in that March 3, is set aside for the parents to pray for divine protection of their babies and for the happiness of their daughters. During the celebration, family members drink sweet sake with sweet rice crackers and rice cakes.

Many families with young girls display doll stands featuring dolls dressed in ancient court costumes, together with peach blossoms. They offer rice crackers and other food to the dolls. The festival is also known as the 'Peach Blossom Festival' as it comes at the season when the delicate peach blossoms bloom in pink profusion.

The present day traditional ritual became crystallized in about 1685. It was during this period that the display of dolls was arranged to represent the Imperial Court in miniature, in accordance to ancient traditions, so revered by the Japanese. The dolls' exhibition is erected weeks earlier on a seven tiered stand.

On the topmost tier are the Emperor and Empress in ceremonial court robes. At the next tier, three royal ladies-in-waiting stand; the third shelf is occupied by the court singer and four musicians with their miniature instruments; the fourth shelf is guarded by a pair of imperial guardsmen in their military regalia; on the fifth shelf, kneeling between miniature orange and cherry trees in bloom are three court attendants.

On the lower shelves are placed dainty offerings and miniature accessories and furnishings. The dolls used in the display are dressed in the richly embroidered costumes of olden days. Because of the authenticity of detail and true artistic touch, these dolls have become art treasures, so that they are handed down from one generation to the other as family heirlooms.
The miniature display of the Court is a reminder to the children that they inherit the traditions of their ancestors. Moreover, the dolls in their quiet dignity impress upon the girls that they must always be serene and smiling. It is also an encouragement to the children to regard their future destiny seriously.

Today in Japan, the latest trend has been to supplement this display with modern dolls, beautifully and artistically garbed in ceremonial robes of various historical periods. So the doll festival has become a harmonious blending of the traditional with the modern, yet retaining the deep significance of the past.

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