Mmm.. a little late, but I had my first Hina Matsuri this year. :)
My first set of dolls, the prince and princess.
A nice office colleague gave this pair to me, so that I can join in the fun for this special festival for girls. The custom goes that families will display the doll set at home. A full set may consist of about 15 dolls, and a few other miniature furniture, tools and carriages. And in the festival, the family send their blessings to their young daughter, wishing her a smooth and healthy transition into adulthood and to start her own happy family in future.
There are lots of yummy food associated with this festival. Special thanks, to @mmmfruit for the picture!
And here's a trick though, we have to keep the dolls after the festival, otherwise the daughter may have problems finding a suitable life partner. For example, marrying late, etc.
I've only got two. It's easy to keep mine.
I wonder how the museum keeps all of these though:
I visited the Hina Festival display at 須坂 (Suzaka) in 長野県. There are thousands of dolls at the 2 musesums: 世界の民俗人形博物館 and 版画美術館.
12 layers of kimono!
Available till: 10 April 2011
Ticket price: 500yen for 2 museums
Umm.. not sure, how is the situation now though, as Nagano is also experiencing aftershocks. :(
