Every year the Japanese celebrate Hina Matsuri, or the Festival of Dolls. This holiday is a time to be thankful for daughters born into the families and wish and pray those girls will have happy and successful lives. A similar day is held on May 5 every year for sons, although it is referred to as Children's Day.
Traditionally, grandparents or parents purchase a display of dolls that are stored away until about 2 weeks before Hina Matsuri, and then the display is set up to be enjoyed by the daughters and the families. The dolls are not toys and can be very costly depending on the size and number of pieces, and, of course, the quality of the display.
The pieces always start with the emperor and empress on a tier, or platform. Lower tiers, a few or several, include those people and items in every day life - courtiers, ministers, servants and the furniture used in their lives. The costumes and accessories are all very beautiful and ornate.
The very lovely wife of my office superintendent asked Nancy and me to come to her house for lunch on Girls' Day. She said she would pull out the display she had had as a little girl and let us see it. It seemed she didn't bother to bring it out every year, so by treating us to this special occasion she would also find a reason to enjoy it herself.
We had no idea what to expect. First we had to drive into the city and find her house. Fortunately by this time Nancy had purchased a car and off we went, with me as navigator. We arrived without incident and were greeted by a smiling hostess.
We had the most enjoyable time. Mrs. Fujita prepared a very special lunch, temaki zushi, a selection of various choices of fish and shrimp and vegetables that we could add to rice and wrap with seaweed for handmade sushi rolls.
We ate so casually and yet so contentedly, on the floor at her kotatsu table and seated comfortably on cushions. The three of us were busy eating and chatting away, exchanging a bit of info about our homes and families in the US and listening to her talk about Kagoshima. We spent the afternoon admiring not only her doll display but her watercolors that she painted herself. She was a very talented person, and she was also so happy that we had come to join her for the afternoon.
It was an especially good afternoon for me, because it was the beginning of a happy and solid friendship that led to more time that Mrs. Fujita and I spent together. She became someone who wanted to share the art of sumi-e, or charcoal/ink painting and the other arts like tea ceremony and ikebana, or flower arranging.
We would spend more time in the next couple of years visiting various cultural events. In a way, this had been the best Girls' Day ever, spent with girlfriends!
Traditionally, grandparents or parents purchase a display of dolls that are stored away until about 2 weeks before Hina Matsuri, and then the display is set up to be enjoyed by the daughters and the families. The dolls are not toys and can be very costly depending on the size and number of pieces, and, of course, the quality of the display.
The pieces always start with the emperor and empress on a tier, or platform. Lower tiers, a few or several, include those people and items in every day life - courtiers, ministers, servants and the furniture used in their lives. The costumes and accessories are all very beautiful and ornate.
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| Both of these photos are of Hina Matsuri desktop ornaments purchased in the Osaka area in the last few years. |
The very lovely wife of my office superintendent asked Nancy and me to come to her house for lunch on Girls' Day. She said she would pull out the display she had had as a little girl and let us see it. It seemed she didn't bother to bring it out every year, so by treating us to this special occasion she would also find a reason to enjoy it herself.
We had no idea what to expect. First we had to drive into the city and find her house. Fortunately by this time Nancy had purchased a car and off we went, with me as navigator. We arrived without incident and were greeted by a smiling hostess.
We had the most enjoyable time. Mrs. Fujita prepared a very special lunch, temaki zushi, a selection of various choices of fish and shrimp and vegetables that we could add to rice and wrap with seaweed for handmade sushi rolls.
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| Our hostess, Mrs. Fujita, prepared wonderful temaki zushi, choices for us to roll our own favorites into large sheets of nori and sushi rice. Note the quilt covered kotatsu table that has soft electric heat underneath to warm our legs. |
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| Nancy and Mrs. Fujita sit Seiza style (sitting on your folded knees is considered more formal) in front of the full Hina Matsuri that was given to Mrs. Fujita when she was a little girl. |
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| The Emperor and the Empress are on the top tier. |
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| I am so happy Mrs. Fujita wanted to share Girls' Day with us. |
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| Nancy playing with the Fujitas' little dog in front of the bottom tiers of the Hina Matsuri. This also illustrates the tatami on the floors (woven mats) and the shoji screens, or squares on the sliding screens to close off rooms for privacy and also to keep the rooms warm or cool depending on the season. |
We would spend more time in the next couple of years visiting various cultural events. In a way, this had been the best Girls' Day ever, spent with girlfriends!
