Chikugo Yoshii Hinadoll Festival

 

Hina matsuri, also called Doll’s Festival or Girls’ Day, is a special day in Japan, celebrated

each year on 3 March. A platforms covered with a red carpet-material are used to display a

set of ornamental hina dolls, representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians

in traditional court dress of the Heian period.

It is an occasion to pray for the well-being and prosperity of girls. It is thought that the festival

has its roots in an ancient purification ceremony, in which dolls were floated down the river,

taking all of the girls’ bad luck with them.

Yoshii-machi, Ukiha-city Hina doll Festival

 from February 11 through April 3

Main Hina dolls are displayed at Shirakabe Avenue district, where the river is lined by attractive former

warehouses, all with traditional wood and white plaster exteriors. The doll displays of Ukiha usually

feature two types of dolls: okiage (paper cut-outs covered in cotton and wrapped in fabric) and hakobina

(dolls in individual display cases).