Family and Dolls

Hinamatsuri Hinamatsuri ( ) is a girls’ festival in Japan which is on 3 March. At this festival, parents will put a display stage for their daughters that dolls wearing Wafuku and small furniture from the top to the bottom. Although this festival is not an official holiday in Japan, all of the family members will be together to bless girls for growing up happily and healthily to be an adult. It is very fastidious about the location of the dolls in the display stage. Usually, the top is a pair of emperor-Obina ( and empress-Mebina ( ) with a miniature gilded screen placed behind them like am imperial court. The second stage is Sannin Kanjo ( ), Kuwae no Choushi ( ), Sanpou ( ), and Nagae no Choushi ( ). The third stage is a Gonin BayashiI ( ), Kozutsumi ( ), Fue (? ), Utaikata ( ), Ookawa ( ), and Taiko ( ). The fourth stage is two Zuishiin ( ), Udaijin ( ) and Sadaijin ( ), with some food between them. The fifth stage is three servants and Ukon no Tachibana ( and Sakon no Sasu ra ( ). The sixth stage is some little dowry furniture. The seventh stage is car, cage, and sedan chair, etc. There are totally 15 dolls and 7 stages. Adding up with some other decorations, it would be more expensive. However, there has other choice for 1 stage, 3 stages or 5 stages. These dolls can be generation. When daughter get married, mother would give her daughter these dolls as dowry. Usually, people will put this display 1 or 2 weeks before 3 March.