Hinamatsuri (雛祭り Hina-matsuri ), also called Doll's Day or Girls' Day, is a special day in Japan. Hinamatsuri is celebrated each year on March 3. This is a day for thinking about the happiness and health of young girls in Japanese families.
History[change | change source]
Display[change | change source]
The Japanese term for the display steps is hina dan (雛壇). There may be five or seven steps.
First platform, the top[change | change source]
The top tier holds two dolls. They are imperial dolls (内裏雛 (だいりびな) dairi-bina ).
- Emperor (御内裏様 Odairi-sama ) holds a ritual baton (笏 shaku )
- Empress (御雛様 Ohime-sama ) holds a fan
The male doll is traditionally on the right, but sometimes the doll is on the left.
Second platform[change | change source]
The second tier holds three court ladies san-nin kanjo (三人官女). Each holds something to do with sake.
Third platform[change | change source]
The third tier holds five male musicians gonin bayashi (五人囃子).
Fourth step[change | change source]
Two Imperial ministers (daijin) may be displayed on the fourth tier
Related pages[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- Sosnoski, Daniel. (1996). Introduction to Japanese culture, p. 10.
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hina Matsuri" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 313.
- Hinamatsuri at About.com; retrieved 2013-3-3.
- Ginkoya, Girl's Day; retrieved 2013-3-6.
- Japanese American National Museum, "Koinobori: Celebrating the Spirit of Boys Day"; retrieved 2013-3-6.
- The words dairi means "Imperial palace".
- The word hime means "girl" or "princess".