HinamatsuriorGirls' Day, (雛祭, ひなまつり;) is the Doll FestivalinJapan. On 3rd of March, people display dolls (雛人形; hinaningyō) dressed in old-style kimonos. Tiered platforms with red cloth (hi-mousen, 緋毛氈) are used to display a set of dolls representing the emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress.
On the top tier, there are two dolls representing emperor and empress who wear court dress of Heian period. Doll of emperor is called O-Dairi-sama (お内裏さま) and doll of empress is called O-Hina-sama (お雛さま). Dairi means Imperial palace. Like the Egyptian god-emperor pharaoh, which was orginally a word expressing a palace, the emperor doll is called Dairi-sama (palace). Hina means a girl, a princess. There are sometimes provided two court houses, and Dairi-sama and O-Hina-sama are often placed inside these miniature houses.
On the second tier, there are usually three dolls, San-nin kanjo (三人官女). They are court ladies serving emperor and empress. For instance, one lady holds sake-filler in her hands.
On the third tier, there are five men who have each musical instruments. They are musicians and serve emperor and empress by their music instrument such as Japanese flute, tsudumi (small, hand drum) etc. They are Go-nin Bayashi (五人囃し).
On the third, and forth tiers etc. usually a vaiety of miniature furniture, tools, and carrige etc. are displayed. Sometimes, dolls of two ministers, that is, minister at right/left are dispalyed on fourth platform. See the pictures of the Japanese article page.
The custom of displaying dolls began during the Edo period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits in their bodies, and would thus save the owner from dangerous encounters.
The origin of HinamatsuriisHinanagashi (雛流し; literally, "doll floating";) in which paper dolls are put into a boat and sent on a journey down a river into the sea, taking with them the bad spirits.
It is a celebration especially for girls, and is sometimes called the "Girl's Festival".
The customary drink for the festival is amazake, a sweet, non-alcoholic, beverage made from fermented riceorsake lees.
Every family with a girl child has a dolls set. There are many legends about this Matsuri (festival), one of them is this: if the family forgot to retry the whole set before the night of 4th March, the girl won't marry before the next year.
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