Hina dolls

hina doll

I went to one of my private student’s recently renovated house in Urawa for a “housewarming” lunch the other day, and was treated to her hina matsuri (雛祭り) display of dolls and various miniature furniture and other items. The detail found in these miniature items was just astounding. But the real star of the show were some larger traditional Japanese dolls that have been in her family for a long time, the oldest belonging to her great-grandmother and therefore dating from the late Edo period.

Interestingly, in this particular person’s family, there is a long-established custom of leaving the hina display up until April 4th, which breaks with the standard custom that dictates the dolls must be taken down immediately after Girl’s Day (March 3rd) passes or else the unmarried girls of the house won’t get married.