Hinamatsuri
, also called Doll's Day or Girls' Day, is a religious (Shinto) holiday in Japan, celebrated on 3March of each year. Platforms covered with a red carpet–material are used to display a set of representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period. Customs. is one of the that are held on auspicious dates of the Chinese calendar: the first day of the first month, the third day of the third month, and so on. After the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, these were fixed on 1January, 3March, 5May, 7July, and 9September . The festival was traditionally known as the , as peach trees typically began to flower around this time. Although this is no longer true since the shift to Gregorian dates, the name remains and peaches are still symbolic of the festival. The primary aspect of is the display of seated male and female dolls (the and ), which represent a Heian period wedding, but are usually described as the Emperor and Empress of Japan. The dolls are usually seated on red cloth, and may be as simple as pictures or folded paper dolls, or as intricate as carved three-dimensional dolls. More  elaborate displays will include a multi-tiered of dolls that represent ladies of the court, musicians, and other attendants, with all sorts of accoutrements. The entire set of dolls and accessories is called the . The number of tiers and dolls a family may have depends on their budget. Families normally ensure that girls have a set of the two main dolls before their first Hinamatsuri. The dolls are usually fairly expensive ($1,500 to $2,500 for a five-tier set, depending on quality) and may be handed down from older generations as heirlooms. The spends most of the year  in storage, and girls and their mothers begin setting up the display a few days before 3March (boys normally do not participate, as 5May, now Children's Day was historically called "Boys' Day"). Traditionally, the dolls were supposed to be put away by the day after , the superstition being that leaving the dolls any longer will result in a late marriage for the daughter, but some families may leave them up for the entire month of March. Practically speaking, the encouragement to put everything away quickly is to avoid the rainy season and humidity that typically follows . Historically, the dolls  were used as toys, but they are intended for display only in modern times. The display of dolls is usually discontinued when the girls reach ten years old. During and the preceding days, girls hold parties with their friends. Typical foods include , , , , and . The customary drink is , also called , a non-alcoholic sake. , traditional decoration for "Hinamatsuri", are lengths of coloured cords (usually in red), usually featuring decorations of miniature baby-dolls, which were originally made from leftover kimono silk (so the idea of repurposing fabric scraps is central to this craft; it is a great activity for using up  leftover materials). "Tsurushi-Bina" are not limited to featuring miniature baby-dolls, but also flowers (i.e., camellia flower, etc.), shells, "Tamari" balls, colourful triangles to represent mountains (such as Mount Fuji, etc.), etc., and with tassels at the bottom. An old tradition now forgotten is that during the "Chōyō no Sekku" the dolls are brought out again to air, making it a "Hinamatsuri" for adults. Placement. The actual placement order of the dolls from left to right varies according to family tradition and location, but the order of dolls per level is the same. The layer of covering is called  or simply , a red carpet with rainbow stripes at the bottom. The description that follows is for a complete set. First, top platform. The top tier holds two dolls, known as . The words "dairi" means "imperial palace". These are the "obina" holding a and "mebina" holding a fan. The pair are also known as and (lord and princess) or and (honored palace official and honored doll). Although they are sometimes referred to as the Emperor and Empress, they only represent the positions and not the actual individuals themselves (with the exception of some dolls from the Meiji period that actually  depict Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken). The two are usually placed in front of a gold folding screen and placed beside green Japanese garden trees. Optional are the two lampstands, called , and the paper or silk lanterns that are known as , which are usually decorated with cherry or plum blossom patterns. Complete sets would include accessories placed between the two figures, known as , composing of two vases of artificial . Generally speaking, the Kansai style arrangement has the male on the right, while Kantō style arrangements have him on the left (from the viewer's perspective). Second platform. The second tier  holds three court ladies who serve sake to the male and female dolls. Two of them are standing with serving utensils, one with a and the other with a . The , placed in the middle, holds a small table and maybe standing or sitting/kneeling. Accessories placed between the ladies are , stands with round table-tops for seasonal sweets, excluding "hishi mochi". Third platform. The third tier holds five male musicians . Each holds a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan: There are ancient sets with seven or ten musicians and at least one with female musicians. Fourth platform . Two may be displayed on the fourth tier. These may be the emperor's bodyguards or administrators in Kyoto: the and the . Both are sometimes equipped with bows and arrows. When representing the ministers, the Minister of the Right is depicted as a young person, while the Minister of the Left is older because that position was the more senior of the two. Also, because the dolls are placed in positions relative to each other, the Minister of the Right will be on "stage right" (the viewer's left) and the Minister of the Left will be on the other  side. Between the two figures are covered , also referred to as , as well as bearing diamond-shaped "hishi mochi". Just below the ministers: on the rightmost, a , and on the leftmost, a . Fifth platform. The fifth tier, between the plants, holds three or of the Emperor and Empress: Other platforms. On the sixth and seventh tiers, various miniature furniture, tools, carriages, etc., are displayed. Sixth platform. These are items used within the palatial residence. Seventh, bottom platform. These are items used when away from the palatial residence. Origin. The earliest record of displaying the dolls as part of the Peach  Festival comes from 1625, for Emperor Go-Mizunoo's daughter Oki-ko. Imperial court ladies set up equipment for her to engage in . After Oki-ko succeeded her father as the Empress Meishō, Hinamatsuri legally became the holiday's name in 1687. Doll-makers began making elaborate dolls for the festival (some growing as tall as 3 feet (1 meter) high before laws were passed restricting their size). Over time, the "hinazakari" evolved to include fifteen dolls and accessories. As dolls became more expensive, tiers were added to the "hinadan" so that the expensive ones could be placed out of  the reach of young children. During the Meiji period as Japan began to modernize and the emperor was restored to power, Hinamatsuri was deprecated in favor of new holidays that focused on the emperor's supposed to bond with the nation, but it was revived. By focusing on marriage and families, it represented Japanese hopes and values. The dolls were said to represent the emperor and empress; they also fostered respect for the throne. The holiday then spread to other countries via the Japanese diaspora, although it remains confined to Japanese immigrant communities and descendants.