HINA dolls

March the third is commonly referred to as MOMO NO SEKKU. It is on this day that families in Japan celebrate HINA MATSURI, the Doll festival, to pray for the happiness and healthy development of girls in each household.
The focus of the event is annual display of HINA dolls. There is a traditional Japanese belief that, by touching the dolls, all illness and bad luck will be transferred to them. The appearance of HINA Dolls was heavily influenced by the glamorous fashions and lifestyle of the Imperial court of around 1000 years ago.
On the top shelf are a male doll called OBINA and a female doll called MEBINA. Based on the appearance of an aristocratic couple, they are the focal point of the display.
On the second shelf , there are three female attendants. They are the ladies-in-waiting who take care of the aristocratic couple.
On the third shelf down, there are five musicians. Playing a number of instruments, they provide entertainment at banquets.
On most displays, pieces of miniature furniture are placed alongside the dolls.

Some HINA accessories belong to the descendants of the TOKUGAWA SHOGUN. Even though they are tiny, they are made from the same materials as their real-life equivalents,using the same techniques.

The lacquered box decorated in the maki-e style contains a number of make-up tools. This pair of scissors is about the size of fingertip.

The miniature calligraphy set was made in the hope that the daughters of the family would become well-educated young ladies.

The Origins of HINA dolls date back 1000 years, to the HEIAN period. Young girls in aristocratic households played with tiny dolls made of paper or cloth, called HINA. It is though that the celebration of the Doll Festival as we know it today began several centuries later,when the ancient custom of playing with HINA Dolls, merged with a seasonal purification event of Chinese origin.

In the 19th century, the Dolls festival also caught on among ordinary towns people. Some is a makeshift HINA-Dolls display using a chest of drawers. Over times, the number of display shelves increased and the decorations became more and more extravagant.

The pleasure shown by a young gril viewing HINA Dolls brings joy to her whole family. HINA Matsuri , the Dolls Festival, is a tarditional custom that strengthens bonds within each family.