Prince Hotel BlogsDepending on where your accomodation in Tokyo is, there is something nearby to assist with making your Japanese experience the best it can be. For those with the pleasure of staying in Shinjuku Japan hotels, there is a lot going on in this special ward of the city of Tokyo to enjoy, one of which is the Hinamatsuri Festival. Hinamatsuri is Japan’s famed Doll Festival, and here is everything you need to know before you celebrate it.
The translations work out such that the day is also referred to as Doll’s Day or Girls’ Day, and it is a celebratory day in Japan which seeks to protect female children and to pray for their well-being and successes in life.
To celebrate, people follow the tradition of setting up red carpeted materials being used to display ornamental dolls, as well as floating dolls down the river. The plateaus represent the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period. The dolls are placed on different platforms according to different levels of importance and categorisation, which will be outlined shortly.
The festival is celebrated on 3 March – as it is every year. As a result of a health precautionary decision regarding the Coronavirus, the doll-floating element of the festival has been cancelled for 2020, but there will still be beautiful platformed doll exhibitions throughout the city of Tokyo, as well as other parts of Japan.
Though it is of course important to know what the festival is and how it is set up in modern times, some people may first have questions about its origin, where it comes from, and why it was started in the first place. In short, it started as part of the Peach Festival in 1625 – a doll festival for the very lucky daughter of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Originally, the tradition was to float dolls down the river, which still happens today as well as the soon to be outlined displays of dolls, which are interpreted in different ways by those constructing them. Ironically, it is now just as much a festival for adults as it is for children, as often the sets are too valuable and intricate to be played with and so instead are simply admired.
This platform, the most important tier, is where imperial dolls (内裏雛 (だいりびな), dairi-bina) are placed – the emporor and the empress, around whom the entire plateau pivots. These dolls include tan obina, who holds a baton, a mebina, who holds a fan, as well as the pair which most often represent the emperor and empress. For decoration, there are also usually optional lampshades and lanterns.
On the second tier, you will find three court ladies who are known as san-nin kanjo (三人官女). They are there to serve sake to a male and a female doll of the first tier, all taking different roles in the serving process. They are often surrounded by accessories like seasonal sweets.
The third platform is where you will find musicians – five of them, all male, known as gonin bayashi (五人囃子). Every one of them is responsible for a different instrument – like a merry Japanese band – though the singer holds only a fan rather than a specific instrument. One musician carries a small drum, another a large one. One is standing with a hand drum, while the last one holds a flute. Some of the ancient doll sets have female musicians, or even more than the five male ones, but the majority of them have just these five.
The fourth tier is where you will find two ministers equipped with bow and arrows, who are also known as daijin (大臣). They represent the emperors protectors and act as a bodyguard duo for the imperial duo. They are surrounded by ornate bowl tables, diamond-shaped stands, a mandarin orange tree and the beautiful, typical symbol of Japan: a cherry blossom tree.
Surrounded by plants on the fifth platform, you will spot the emperor and empress’s “helpers” or “protectors”: a crying drinker, an angry one, as well as a laughing one – one for all our drinking altar egos after a night in the Tokyo Skytree?
Tier Six has items that are found within an emperor and empress’s home: chests of drawers, mirrors, sewing kits, braziers as well as afternoon tea equipment.
While tier six showed items used by the emperor and empress while they are within their ornate, imperial palace, tier seven reflects what they are using when they are away from home, like an ox-drawn carriage or a cart of flower.
Have you found that you are much more fascinated by this festival and the dolls within it than one festival will satiate? Well, not far from Tokyo – either a half hour drive or an hour-long train – you will find the city of Yokohama, which is home to the Yokohama Doll Museum. Exhibits of dolls throughout history and the ages, as well as a theatre for puppet shows, this is a fun-filled day trip for the whole family to enjoy.
Address: 18 Yamashitacho, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0023, Japan
More info: https://www.doll-museum.jp/
While the doll displays with their various intricate platforms are the major tradition of the celebrations, a number of places take on their own adaptations for their decor without making up full sets, and you will see sprinkled around the city tributes to the festival and celebrations. Like restaurants with doll-bunting type decorations hanging from the ceilings, as well as an incredible display in the Edo Period’s restored historic house, Koma Old Town House.
While you aren’t able to go to the doll floating festivities this year, you will be blown away by the intricate detail of every multi-platformed doll exhibit you see. Each has such life and character, and you can tell the effort that has gone into everything, from the chests of drawers to the elaborate makeup on the dolls’ faces.
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