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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Picture of the Week Hina Matsuri, Japan

Hina Matsuri (雛祭り Hina-matsuri), or Girls day, is a Japanese Doll Festival, held on March 3 in Japan. Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls called (雛人形 hina-ningyō) which represent the Emperor, Empress and other court attendants in traditional court dress of the Heian period in Japan.

Families will generally start to display the dolls in February, usually in their living rooms and take them down immediately after the festival.

This picture is of the Hina Ningyo at my home in Japan.


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13 comments:

  1. linaFebruary 22, 2011 at 2:55 PM

    Nice collection. :)

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 23, 2011 at 2:06 AM

    Ooh love this blog! I would love to go to Japan one of these days, until than I'll get my daily dose here. :)

    xoxo
    http://amuseinme.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Japan-AustraliaFebruary 23, 2011 at 4:08 PM

    Thanks Lina!! It is pretty impressive, but you would be surprised as most homes have them.

    Thanks for your comments, Amuseinme!! Japan is a great place and I hope you have the chance one day to visit Japan.

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  4. F.February 23, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    uh oh, had forgotten it's that time of the year already! Better get my set out soon or my little ladies will be angry with me...

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  5. linaFebruary 23, 2011 at 5:47 PM

    @Japan Australia,
    Do you allocate a place to exhibit them all the time or is it stashed away somewhere afterwards? I remember seeing an anime of how the dolls would be taken out from storage or something come the festival time.

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  6. Japan-AustraliaFebruary 24, 2011 at 5:35 PM

    @ Bigger,

    You better get them out quick smart, especially if you have girls.

    @Lina,

    We get them out of storage in mid February and display them in the room next to our living room. We put them away straight after Girl`s Day on March 3. It is bad luck to keep them out past March 4, and superstition says that leaving them out past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter.

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  7. YuriFebruary 24, 2011 at 11:57 PM

    Hey, Japan Australia

    Yes, it is girls day soon! When i went to my mothers house, she decorate this (small one) all year long. Do you know what is that mean? It is bad luck to me. She loves this dolls!

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  8. Japan-AustraliaFebruary 25, 2011 at 7:42 AM

    Hi Yuri,

    Yes, I hear that many people also display them all year round. It is only superstition and a lot of people don't believe in the bad luck. I wouldn't worry too much about it!

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  9. 2catsFebruary 25, 2011 at 10:04 PM

    At our grandma's house the dolls are out all year too. :-)

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  10. YoshiFebruary 27, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    It's unfortunate that I was raised in a family without a sister. So we did not have Hina dolls at home. I am glad to see pretty dolls in your entry!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Yoshi

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  11. Japan-AustraliaFebruary 28, 2011 at 3:54 PM

    Thanks Yoshi, It is one of my favourite times of year and I always love getting the Hina dolls out of storage and displaying them. It is the same for boys day and kabuto.

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  12. the soul of japanApril 3, 2011 at 6:05 PM

    Just stopping through. Thought I'd give you holla. Nice piece.

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  13. Japan-AustraliaApril 4, 2011 at 4:51 PM

    Thanks SofJ, always nice to have you stop by and take a look.

    ReplyDelete