Yurihonjō Hinakaidō (由利本荘ひな街道) (otherwise known as Machinaka Hina Meguri (由利本荘町中ひなめぐり)) is the name of an annual traditional doll display festival in Yurihonjō City in Akita Prefecture in Japan.
The Japanese Doll Festival (雛祭り, Hina-matsuri), or Girls' Day, is held on March 3, the third day of the third month. Traditionally, families with daughters display a set of ornamental dolls (雛人形, hina-ningyō) representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period. The dolls are placed on platforms with a red decoration sheet called a hi-mōsen.
The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. People believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi (雛流し, lit. "doll floating"), in which straw hina dolls were placed on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking bad or evil spirits with them. The Shimogamo Shrine (part of the Kamo Shrine complex) in Kyoto) celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children.
The Shōnai area across the border from Yurihonjō in Yamagata Prefecture used to be an important port of call and trading centre for the Kitamae trading ships (北前船, Kitamaebune). These ships often brought the latest trends and crafts from the imperial capital in Kyoto, among them the traditional Hina dolls.
For over 100 years Shōnai has organised tours with information and maps to enable people to see the beautiful craftwork of these hina dolls at various places around Sakata, Tsuruoka and the other towns which make up the Shōnai area. Many of them are in immaculate condition and date back hundreds of years, having passed down from generation to generation in the same family home.
From the end of February until the beginning of April there is a bus tour which takes visitors around the various homes and buildings where the traditional hina dolls are on display. Some of the most notable displays are in the Honma Art Museum (本間美術館, Honma Bijutsukan), Soumaro Tea House (相馬楼茶間, Soumarou Chama) and Chido Museum (致道博物館, Chidou Hakubutsukan).
In 2005 the new city of Yurihonjō was created as a result of a merger of seven towns and one city. Many of these towns already had their own small-scale hina doll displays, most notably in Yashima. In 2008 the first Yurihonjō Kaidō took place, largely based around the Yashima area.
In 2009 the Yurihonjō Hinakaidō tried to encompass the different areas of the newly-merged city with over 50 different locations divided into four main areas: Iwaki in the north; Ouchi and Honjō in the centre; and Yashima in the south. There were various other 'side' events including a special Ohinakko (おひなっこ列車) train service taking visitors to the Yashima hina doll exhibitiion sites on the Yurikogen Railway (由利高原鉄道).
The Hina doll displays vary greatly in size, history and style. For example, the historical dolls on display at the Ooi House (大井家) in Yashima; or the comical servant figures at the Ouchi Denshokan (大内伝承館) or the 'oshie' Hina pictures at the Iwaki Local History Museum (岩城歴史民俗資料館, Iwaki Rekishi Minzoku Shiryōkan)
The Yurihonjō Hinakaidō is coordinated by the Akita Prefecture Yuri Regional Development Office (秋田県由利地域振興局).
