In Japan March 3 is a Girl’s Day. Families with daughters in Japan celebrate the day to wish for a happy healthy life for their daughters. When the first daughter of the family is born, either the parents or grandparents purchase Hina Dolls before the first Girl’s Day celebration. In our case, my parents in Japan bought the whole set of Hina Dolls .
Most families get the Hina Dolls out at the end of February and put away the dolls at the end of the day on the 3rd of March, the day of the Girls Day. It is said in Japan that if the families don’t put away the dolls on the 3rd, the daughters will have trouble getting married. I spent a good hour getting the dolls out and putting those away will be another an hour and a half. It’s a task, but when my girls are older, it would be fun to decorate and put away with them which will give me an opportunity for me to teach them a tradition from Japan.
First Platform
Imperial Dolls
Emperor and Empress Odairi-sama & Ohina-sama
Second Platform & Third Platform
Three Court Ladies Sanin Kanjo & Five Male Musicians Gonin Bayashi
Fourth Platform
Two Ministers Daijin
Fifth Platform
Three Helpers/Samurai
Maudlin drinker nakijōgo, Cantankerous drinker okorijōgo, Merry drinker waraijōgo
I asked my parents not to get a whole 7 tiered set because we move every two to three years and there is no guarantee that all of our shipment arrives safely every time we move and it also takes up a lot of space to decorate as well as to store. Of course, despite my advice, just like many parents do, my parents did what they thought was the best for us. (Now being a parent, I’m afraid that I do the same…) At first I was overwhelmed with the responsibility to keep these dolls from getting ruined, but now I appreciate my parents’ thoughts and love for our kids. Thanks to them my daughters can also show their friends from other cultures what Girl’s Day is about in Japan by showing the dolls and they are proud of them.
I need to take a photo of my girls standing next to the Hina Doll Set to see how much they’ve grown each year. My second child, 3-year-old, is still shorter than the Hina set this year.
wow. how neat! I like learning about other cultures and this is the first time I’ve heard of this tradition. So is there something similar for sons?
Thanks for asking that question, Elisa! Yes, for boys, families celebrate on May 5. We call May 5, Children’s Day although it’s originally for boys.
Have you seen Kurosawa’s Dreams? I always loved the short film about the Hina Dolls! These are amazing Kaho; what a beautiful tradition!
This is so interesting! The dolls are beautiful..thanks for sharing them
Hi Kaho, what a lovely tradition you have. And I bet it is so exciting for your girls to see those exquisite dolls. I can only imagine what it feels like at that age to see something like that – must be near magical! It is so wonderful that you keep your traditions, the memories are worth all the trouble for sure! Also I like your idea of taking pics of your girls each year to show how much they’ve grown. =)
those are BEAUTIFUL! what a cool holiday/tradition. It’s always so interesting to learn about days like this from other countries/cultures…very neat 🙂
And I must say, thank you for all of your wonderfully supportive comments, you’re the best!
I had heard about this holiday before but had no idea about the multi-tiered doll platform. It’s beautiful and they are all so ornate. That said, putting it up and taking it down seems like more than just a chore. After I saw your daughter standing next to it, I was blown away.
All the best for you daughters and yourself.
This is my first time seeing the whole 7 tier! very cool! Makes me wanna have a girl so bad…! ^^