The Japanese Doll festival

If you are a South Indian and know about the Navarathri Golu, it will be a pleasant surprise to know that Japanese have "Golu" too. I was surprised when I heard about it and wanted to see it. The invitation from my japanese friend Tomoe-san to see it in her home came as a blessing. When I saw it, I was amazed at the similarities between the two cultures.

The Japanese call it the "Hina Matsuri"- Hina is the name of the empress doll and matsuri means festival - and is celebrated on March 3rd. It is celebrated by families who have girl children for the future happiness of their daughters and so the english name for the festival is Girl's Day. The Hina-ningyou or the Hina-dolls are displayed on a tier of stairs and the number of stairs is generally odd(1,3,5,7) similar to what we have in South India.

At my friends' home they had 3 stairs. The replica of the emperor O-Dairi sama and the empress O-Hina sama in royal court costumes occupy the topmost stair. The dolls on the next stair are the three ladies who serve "sake" to the imperial couple and they are called the "san-nin kanjo". My friends told me that, actually, the complete arrangement would also consist of five court musicians below the san-nin kanjo called the "go-nin bayashi". This festival also marks the beginning of spring. The light called "bonbori" and peach blossoms called "momo no hana" form an integral part of the decoration.













I learnt from my friends that the empress wears twelve kimonos though I am not sure of the significance. The display of dolls begin by mid February and ends on March 3rd. I was impressed seeing the arrangement and could not help marvel at the delicate features of the dolls which showcased the perfection Japanese are known worldwide for. As tradition goes, the grandaparents buy the Hina ningyou for a girl's first Hina matsuri and so Tomoe-san's parents had bought the doll set for their granddaughter,Kaho chan, shelling out a whopping 300 thousand Yen which would be equivalent to 1.2 lakh Indian Rupees. This aspect is different than our golus because, our dolls would not cost us more than a few thousand rupees.

One of my friends also sang a song about Hina matsuri which goes like this....

Akari o tsukemashou bonbori ni (Let's light the lanterns) 明かりをつけましょう　ぼんぼりに

Ohana o agemashou momo no hana (Let's set peach flowers) お花をあげましょう　桃の花

Go-nin bayashi no fue taiko (Five court musicians are playing flutes and drums) 五人ばやしの　笛太鼓

Kyo wa tanoshii Hinamatsuri (Today is a joyful Dolls' Festival) 今日は楽しいひな祭り

In Japan, during this season, we see the O-Dairi sama and O-Hina sama everywhere and I too received a tapestry containing their pictures from my friends for the happiness of my daughter ;-) I was told that I am not to display it after March 3rd. Even my friends would take off their doll display after March 3rd because of an old superstition (yes,the japanese have superstitions too!!) that it will be difficult marrying off the daughters if the display lasts beyond March 3rd.
Happy Hina Matsuri!!