Essential Japanese Seasonal Decorations - Spring
Seasonality: Mid Spring/ March
Japanese Name: Hina-dan/ Hina-ningyo/ Suwari-bina/ Byobu/ Bonbori/ Sanbo Kazari/ San-nin Kanjo/ Gonin Bayashi/ Daijin/ Udaijin/ Sadaijin/ San’nin Shichou/ Dougu/ Ukon no tachibana/ Sakon no sakura/ Hina-matsuri/ Momo no Sekku
English Name: Doll-shelf/ Hina-dolls/ Sitting-dolls/Golden Folding Screen/ Artificial Peach Branch Vases/ Three Court Ladies/ Five Court Musicians/ Ministers/ Minister of the Right/ Minister of the Left/ Paper Pole-Lantern/ Three Helpers/ Doll Furniture/ Heian Palace Mandarin Orange Tree/ Heian Palace Cherry Tree/ Doll’s Festival/ Peach Festival
Hina-dan (雛壇) is the platform on which the Hina dolls, a.k.a. Hina-ningyo 雛人形, are arranged on various tiers. The layer of covering is called dankake (段掛) or simply hi-mōsen (緋毛氈) and is a red carpet with rainbow stripes along the bottom.
In this decoration, the two topmost dolls are known as the imperial palace dolls (内裏雛 dairi-bina). These are the Emperor (男雛 O-bina) holding a ritual baton (笏 shaku) and Empress (女雛 Me-bina) holding a fan. The type of hina dolls on this decoration are known as suwari-bina (座り雛), or “sitting dolls.” They’re a style of children’s dolls that were made of special materials for mid to late Edo period hina-matsuri displays. They’re accompanied by a byobu (屏風), or golden folding screen; bonbori (雪洞), or paper pole-lanterns; and sanbō kazari (三方飾), composing of two vases of artificial peach branches (口花 kuchibana).
On the second level, are three court ladies known as the san-nin kanjo (三人官女). Each holds sake equipment. From the viewer’s perspective, the standing lady on the right is the long-handled sake-bearer Nagae no chōshi (長柄の銚子), the standing lady on the left is the backup sake-bearer Kuwae no chōshi (加えの銚子), and the only lady in the middle is the seated sake bearer Sanpō (三方). Accessories placed between the ladies are takatsuki (高坏), stands with round table-tops for seasonal sweets.
On the third level, there are five male musicians gonin bayashi (五人囃子). Each holds a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan. The singer is called the utaikata (謡い方). There is a musician holding a fue (笛), or flute. There is a musician holding a kotsuzumi (小鼓), or small hand drum. There is a musician holding a otsuzumi (大鼓), or large hand drum. There is a musician holding a kakko (羯鼓), or hourglass drum.
On the fourth level, two ministers (大臣 daijin) are displayed as well as diamond-shaped stands (菱台 hishidai) bearing diamond-shaped hishi mochi and two hibachi (火鉢), or brazier, sets. The minister in blue is the Udaijin (右大臣), or Minister of the Right, and the minister in orange is the Sadaijin (左大臣), or Minister of the Left.
On the fifth level, there are three helpers san’nin shichou (三人仕丁). Starting from the left, there is the okorijogo (怒り上戸), or angry drinker. The middle one is the nakijogo (泣き上戸), or crying drinker. Lastly, is the waraijogo (笑い上戸), or happy drinker. All the way on the left is the Ukon no tachibana (右近の橘), or Heian Palace Mandarin Orange Tree. All the way on the right is the Sakon no sakura (左近の桜), or Heian Palace Cherry Tree.
On the sixth level are various types of dougu (道具), or doll furniture, as well as a pair of inu-bako (犬箱), or "dog boxes.” Inu-bako are good luck charms for newly married women which represent wishes for the women to have an easy delivery of infants, having lots of children overall and having their children grow up healthy. The furniture on the right is a tansu (箪笥), or a chest of drawers. In the middle is a kyōdai (鏡台), or mirror stand. The furniture on the left is an ocha dogu (お茶道具), a set of utensils for tea ceremony.
On the bottom level, are various types of dougu (道具), or doll furniture. Starting from left to right, there's a gokago (御駕籠), or palanquin; a kaioke (飼い桶), or an octagonal box where the shell pieces of the kai-awase (貝合わせ) game are stored; a juubako (重箱), or a multi-tiered food box; another kaioke (飼い桶); and lastly, a goshoguruma (御所車), or an ox-drawn carriage.
Hina Matsuri (雛祭り), also known as Momo no Sekku (桃の節句), traces its origins to a Heian period custom called hina-nagashi (雛流し, lit. “doll floating”), in which straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly carrying away one’s troubles or bad spirits. The customary drink for the festival is shirozake, a sake made from fermented rice. A colored hina-arare, bite-sized crackers flavored with sugar or soy sauce depending on the region, and hishimochi, a diamond-shaped colored rice cake, are served. Chirashizushi (sushi rice flavored with sugar, vinegar, topped with raw fish and a variety of ingredients) is often eaten. A salt-based soup called ushiojiru containing clams still in the shell is also served. Clam shells in food are deemed the symbol of a united and peaceful couple, because a pair of clamshells fits perfectly, and no pair but the original pair can do so. Families generally start to display the dolls in February and take them down immediately after the festival. Superstition says that leaving the dolls past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter.
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