The Japan Dolls Festival


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Japan's Dolls Festival

Japanese girls take dollhouse miniatures to a high cultural art form each year on March 3 in the Girl's Day Dolls Festival, known in Japan as Hina Matsuri. The word "hina" may be translated into English as "doll," or as "small and lovely object." The word "matsuri" simply means festival.

Dating back centuries, the Dolls Festival has its roots in a ritual in which dolls made out of paper were cast down local rivers along with the sender's ills, imperfections, or sins. Japan's present version of the festival can be dated to the Edo period (1603-1868), and hasn't changed much since.

Dolls are displayed on a red-covered stand of 1, 5 or 7 graduated levels. Most Girl's Day doll sets consist of 15 dolls, including an elaborately-costumed, seated emperor and empress pair, who hold court together on the top level of the display. Displays also often include miniature furniture, dishes, utensils and food.

A properly-celebrated Dolls Festival is thought to ensure the future happiness of the family's girl children, and custom says that a girl will marry later in life if her dolls are displayed longer than 3 days.

The Japan Dolls Festival is also known as the Peach Blossom Festival, and peach blossoms, which are symbols of the feminine and a happy marriage, are an integral element of the Girl's Day doll display.

Copyright 2007 dollhouseminiatureresource.com


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13. photoguide.jp - Japan Photos by Philbert Ono - Usokae Festival
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14. Crafts - Hand-crafted Chiyogami Dolls
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17. Beyond the Blog
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18. Cherry Blossom Festival of Southern California
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27. AFI Fest 2003-List View of Index of Films By Title
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28. JAPANESE DOLLS: Boy's Day Festival in Japan - free article courtesy of Artic.
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29. Japan-Customers-Travel - Site Map
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Resources...
Famous Miniature Doll Houses
Dollhouse Miniature Scale
Dollhouse Miniature History
How To Photograph Dollhouse Miniatures
Collecting Dollhouse Miniatures
The Thorne Rooms Dollhouse Miniatures
The Japan Dolls Festival
Dollhouse Miniatures
Dollhouse Miniature Roomboxes