Hina and Japanese Dolls

According to the old lunar calendar, the third day of the third month is the date of the peach blossom festival. Families traditionally celebrate this occasion by displaying hina dolls, which symbolize their prayers for the health and fortune of their daughters.

The origins of this tradition are unclear, but records reveal it had become an annual event by the Edo period (1603-1868). The Edo Kanoko guidebook, written during the Jokyo era (1684-88), mentions hina doll markets being opened at several locations within Edo (present-day Tokyo), including Nakabashi, Owarimachi, Ningyocho, Jikkendana and Kojimachi.

During the first half of the Edo period, the main type of hina were standing dolls made of paper. Seated dolls in clothes combining vibrantly colored fabrics emerged after the mid-Edo period. Variations included:
- Muromachi-bina, with costumes in Muromachi-period style;
- Kyoho-bina, representing an imperial couple in richly layered costume;
- Kokin-bina, long-faced dolls popular in Edo; and
- Jirozaemon-bina, with round white faces (favored in the Kansai region).

Today, it is standard to display one set of Dairi-bina (based on Kyoho-bina) accompanied by dolls representing three court ladies, two high-ranking ministers, court officials without rank, and a group of five musicians. In the late Edo period, however, displays liberally combined multiple sets of Dairi-bina and hina dolls with other doll types, such as regional varieties. This year, the exhibition also features traditional Gosho dolls and Saga dolls, which were made in Kyoto from the Edo period onward. Delicately crafted, all these dolls show the affection and tastes of their makers as well as their owners, reflecting the Japanese people's characteristic love of miniature objects.