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Iwatsuki has flourished as a post town on the Nikko-onari highway since the time of Iwatsuki castle’s construction by Sir Doukan Oota. Iwatsuki is well known for having the best raw materials relative to doll making. This area was originally famous for predicting the finest paulownia wood powder used in doll making, in addition to paulownia wood, the abundance of high quality water found on Iwatsuki is essential in mixing white plaster of Paris as well as mixing and developing other colors for use in making dolls. Thus, doll making has been a flourishing practice in Iwatsuki since the Edo period. At present, the Tougyoku Company ranks highest of about 300 doll workshops and 100 wholesale and retail stores, making it both in name and reality, one of the finest producers of traditional dolls in Japan.
The origin of the "girl's festival"
The story goes far back to one thousand years ago, to the early days of the “Heian era”. In those days, ”HINA ASOBI”, a sort of house keeping game with paper dolls, was widely prevalent among women and girls of the nobility. Noblemen, on the other hand, held a ceremony in March to pray to God for peace and security of their children by floating the paper dolls down the stream or in the garden pond to drive. It is believed that these two events were put together as the origin of the girl’s festival.
In the middle of the “Edo period”, the dolls came to be dressed beautifully and gorgeously as seen today. The event came into fashion in big cities like Edo(Tokyo’s former name) first and gradually infiltrated throughout the country in the “Meiji era”, Every family has come display the “DAIRI BINA” whenever a baby come into the world, to wish her happiness and healthy growth. Although shapes of dolls and manners of display were changed over time. The girl’s festival has been carried on for over one thousand years.
The JapaneseDoll Festival(雛祭り,Hina-matsuri?), or Girls' Day, is held on March 3, the third day of the third month. Platforms with a red hi-mōsen are used to display a set of ornamental dolls (雛人形,hina-ningyō?) representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.
The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese 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 taking troubles or bad spirits with them. The Shimogamo Shrine (part of the Kamo Shrine complex in Kyoto) celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children. Also people have stopped doing this now because of fishermen catching the dolls in their nets. They now send them out in to the sea, and when the spectators are gone they take the boats out of the water and bring them back to the temple and burn them.
The customary drink for the festival is amazake, a sweet, non-alcoholic version of sake made from fermentedrice; the customary food is colored arare, bite-sized crackers flavored with soy sauce. Chirashizushi (sushi rice flavored with sugar, vinegar, topped with raw fish and a variety of ingredients) is often eaten. A soy sauce-based soup is also served containing clams still in the shell. Clam shells in food are deemed the symbol of a united and peaceful couple, because a pair of clam shells fits perfectly, and no pair but the original pair can do so.
References to the holiday and its activities are often referred to in film and music. Dating as far back as 1930's, the Hinamatsuri has been the subject of Japanese film, such as Hinamatsuri no yoru.[1] More recently, the J-pop group the Mini Moni released a song Minimoni Hinamatsuri! which sings of the joy of the day.
This custom has also been shown in anime series such as Ojamajo Doremi.
A Hinaningyo display is obtainable by players in the Nintendo Wii game, Animal Crossing-City Folk.
An episode of the original Pokemon series, Princess vs. Princess, Girl's day was the main area in the episode. Unfortunately, due to cultural differences between America and Japan, this episode wasn't aired until several months later, along with The Purr-fect Hero (which happened on Kids Day, another Japanese Festival). Until the episode was aired it created a plot hole, because this was the episode where Jesse caught her Lickitung.
The Kantō region and Kansai region have different placement orders of the dolls from left to right, but the order of dolls per level are the same.
The term for the platform in Japanese is hina dan(雛壇?). The layer of covering is called dankake(段掛?) or simply mousen(毛氈?), a red carpet with rainbow-striped at the bottom.
The top tier holds two dolls, known as Imperial dolls (内裏雛 (だいりびな),da-i-ri-bi-na?) representing the Emperor (御内裏様,O-dairi-sama?) and Empress (御雛様,O-hina-sama?) (dairi means "Imperial Palace", and hina means "girl" or "princess").
The dolls are usually placed in front of a gold folding screen byōbu(屏風?).
Optional are the two lampstands, called bonbori(雪洞?), and the paper or silk lanterns that are known as hibukuro (火袋?), which are usually decorated with cherry or ume blossom patterns.
Complete sets would include accessories placed between the two figures, known as sanbou kazari(三方飾り?), composing of two vases kuchibana(口花?).
The traditional arrangement had the male on the right, while modern arrangements had him on the left (from the viewer's perspective).
The second tier holds three court ladies san-nin kanjo(三人官女?). Each holds a sake equipment. From the viewer's perspective, the standing lady on the right is the long-handled sake-bearer Nagae no choushi(長柄の銚子?), the standing lady on the left is the backup sake-bearer Kuwae no choushi(加えの銚子?), and the only lady in the middle is the seated sake bearer Sanpou(三方?).
Accessories placed between the ladies are takatsuki (高坏?), stands with round table-tops for seasonal sweets, excluding hishimochi.
Two ministers (daijin) may be displayed on the fourth tier: the Minister of the Right (右大臣,Udaijin?) and the Minister of the Left (左大臣,Sadaijin?). The Minister of the Right is depicted as a young person, while the Minister of the Left is much older. Also, because the dolls are placed in positions relative to each other, the Minister of the Right will be on the viewer's left and the Minister of the Left will be on the viewer's right. Both are sometimes equipped with bows and arrows.
Between the two figures are covered bowl tables kakebanzen(掛盤膳?), also referred to as o-zen (お膳?), as well as diamond-shaped stands hishidai(菱台?) bearing diamond-shaped ricecakes hishimochi(菱餅?). Hishidai with feline-shaped legs are known as nekoashigata hishidai (猫足形菱台?).
Just below the ministers: on the rightmost, a mandarin orange tree Ukon no tachibana(右近の橘?), and on the leftmost, a cherry tree Sakon no sakura(左近の桜?).
The fifth tier, between the plants, holds three helpers or samurai as the protectors of the emperor and empress. From left to right (viewer's perspective):
Japanese traditional dolls are known by the name ningyō(人形?) in Japan, which literally means human shape.
There are various types of Japanese dolls, some representing children and babies, some the imperial court, warriors and heroes, fairy-tale characters, gods and (rarely) demons, and also people of the daily life of Japanese cities. Many have a long tradition and are still made today, for household shrines, for formal gift-giving, or for festival celebrations such as Hinamatsuri, the doll festival, or Kodomo no Hi, Children's Day. Some are manufactured as a local craft, to be purchased by pilgrims as a souvenir of a temple visit or some other trip.
They may be a continuity in the making of the Dogū, humanoid figures, by the ancient Jōmon culture in Japan (8000-200 BC) and in the Haniwa funerary figures of the subsequent Kofun culture (around 300-600 AD). Expert Alan Pate notes that temple records refer to the making of a grass doll to be blessed and thrown into the river at Ise Shrine in 3 BC; the custom was probably even more ancient, but it is at the root of the modern doll festival or Hinamatsuri.
In the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian period, several types of dolls had already been defined, as known from Lady Murasaki's novel The Tale of Genji. Girls played with dolls and doll houses; women made protective dolls for their children or grandchildren; dolls were used in religious ceremonies, taking on the sins of a person whom they had touched.
Probably the first professional dollmakers were temple sculptors, who used their skill to make painted wooden images of children (Saga dolls). The possibilities of this art form, using carved wood or wood composition, a shining white "skin" lacquer called gofun made from ground oystershell and glue, and textiles, were vast.
During the Edo period (about 1603-1867), when Japan was closed to most trade, there developed both fine dollmakers and a market of wealthy individuals who would pay for the most beautiful doll sets for display in their homes or as valuable gifts. Sets of dolls came to include larger and more elaborate figures, and more of them. The competitive trade was eventually regulated by government, meaning that doll makers could be arrested or banished for breaking laws on materials and height.
Hinamatsuri Hina dolls, the Emperor with two handmaidens.
Hina dolls are the dolls for Hinamatsuri, the doll festival on March 3. They can be made of many materials but the classic hina doll has a pyramidal body of elaborate, many-layered textiles stuffed with straw and/or wood blocks, carved wood hands (and in some cases feet) covered with gofun, and a head of carved wood or molded wood compo covered with gofun, with set-in glass eyes (though before about 1850 the eyes were carved into the gofun and painted) and human or silk hair. A full set comprises at least 15 dolls, representing specific characters, with many accessories (dogu), though the basic set is a male-female pair, often referred to as the Emperor and Empress.
Musha or warrior dolls are usually made of materials similar to the hina dolls, but the construction is often more complicated, since the dolls represent men (or women) seated on camp chairs, standing, or riding horses. Armor, helmets, and weapons are made of lacquered paper, often with metal accents. There is no specified "set" of such dolls; subjects include Emperor Jimmu, Empress Jingū with her prime minister Takenouchi holding her newborn imperial son, Shoki the Demon-Queller, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his generals and tea-master, and fairy-tale figures such as Momotarō the Peach Boy or Kintarō the Golden Boy.
Gosho dolls show fat, cute babies in a simplified form. The basic gosho is an almost-naked sitting boy, carved all in one piece, with very white skin, though gosho with elaborate clothing, hairstyle, and accessories, female as well as male, became popular as well. They developed as a gifts associated with the Imperial court, and "gosho" could be translated "palace" or "court."
A traditional Daruma doll, with one eye filled in for good luck
Kimekomi refers to a method of making dolls. The ancestors of Kimekomi dolls are the Kamo ("willow-wood") dolls, small dolls carved of willow and decorated with cloth scraps. Kimekomi dolls start with a carved and/or molded base of wood, wood compo, or (in some modern dolls) plastic foam. A design of different patterned cloth scraps is planned out, and the base is grooved so that the edges of the cloth can be hidden in the grooves. The cloth is glued on and the edges tucked in. The head and hands (if any) of the doll are usually finished with gofun; the hair may be part of the molded head or be a separate wig. These dolls have become a very popular craft and kits with finished heads can be purchased. The method is also used by some of Japan's avant-garde dollmakers, who adapt the old materials to new visions.
Karakuri ningyō, puppets or dolls are mechanical; they include the large figures on festival floats, for festivals like Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and smaller entertaining scenes, often with a musical element accompanying the movement. They often depict legendary heroes.
Bunraku puppets are a theatrical form which rivalled and inspired the Kabuki theater, and survives today.
Daruma dolls are spherical dolls with red bodies and white faces without pupils. They represent Bodhidharma, an East Indian who founded Zen about 1500 years ago and whose whose limbs, according to legend, withered after prolonged meditation. Daruma dolls are charms to bring good fortune, continued prosperity, and fortitude to accomplish goals. Usually daruma dolls are purchased without eyes. One eye is filled when making a wish, the other when the wish is fulfilled. Wishes can be made throughout the year, but it is common in Japan to do it on New Year's Day.
Teru teru bozu are hand-made dolls made of white paper or cloth, which are hung from a window by a string to bring good weather and prevent rain.
Kokeshi dolls
Kokeshi dolls have been made for 150 years, and are from Northern Honshū, the main island of Japan. They were originally made as toys for children of farmers. They have no arms or legs, but a large head and cylindrical body, representing little girls. From a simple toy, it has now become a famous Japanese craft, and now an established souvenir for tourists.
Ichimatsu dolls (ja:市松人形) represent little girls or boys, correctly proportioned and usually with flesh-colored skin and glass eyes. The original Ichimatsu were named after an 18th-century Kabuki actor, and must have represented an adult man, but since the late 19th century the term has applied to child dolls, usually made to hold in the arms, dress, and pose (either with elaborately made joints or with floppy cloth upper arms and thighs). Baby boy dolls with mischievous expressions were most popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, but in 1927 the friendship doll exchange[1] involved the creation of 58 32" dolls representing little girls, to be sent as a gift from Japan to the United States, and the aesthetic of these dolls influenced dollmakers to emulate this type of a solemn, gentle-looking little girl in elaborate kimono.
Silk-skinned or "mask-face" dolls became a popular craft in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, allowing the individual to design elaborate kimono for dolls representing women of various periods of Japanese history, particularly the Edo period. Dolls of this type continued to be made and were a popular item for servicemen and tourists to bring back after World War II, though they also might choose dolls representing similar subjects made with gofun faces.
Kuroda bushi, Hakata ningyō
Bisque dolls are made of fired clay. Fukuoka is a traditional center of the manufacture of bisque dolls, and Hakata ningyō are famous throughout Japan.
Anesama ningyo and shiori ningyo (literally "big sister dolls" and "bookmark dolls," respectively) are made of washi paper. Anesama ningyo tend to be three-dimensional, whereas shiori ningyo are flat. Anesama ningyo often have elaborate hairstyles and costumes made of high-quality washi paper. They often lack facial features. Those from Shimane prefecture are especially famous.
A hybrid of anesama ningyo and shiori nyngyo, called shikishi ningyo, has become popular in recent years. Shikishi ningyo are a type of Japanese paper dolls made with figures and scenes and are mounted on shikishi, a rectangular fancy cardboad about a square foot (about a tenth of a square meter) in size.
More recent and less traditional Japanese dolls are ball-jointed dolls (BJDs), whose growth in popularity has spread to the US and other countries since the advent of the Super Dollfie, first made by Volks in 1999. BJDs can be very realistic-looking or based more on the anime aesthetic. They are made of polyurethaneresin and are highly customizable in that owners can sand them, change out their wig and eye colors, and even change their face paint. Because of this hands-on aspect of customization, they are not only popular with collectors, but also with hobbyists.
If you ever have the chance to visit the museum, look for Japanese dolls like these in Gallery 17 (Central Gallery), on the 2nd Floor of the New Exhibition Hall.
Every year on March 3rd, Japan celebrates the Doll Festival (Japanese, Hina Matsuri). Until recently, Girls' Day was also celebrated on March 3rd. On this day every year, families set up a special step-altar on which to arrange their Emperor and Empress dolls, called "hina" in Japanese. They decorate this altar with boughs of peach blossoms and make offerings to the hina dolls of freshly made rice cakes (mochi), either flavored with a wild herb or colored and cut into festive diamond shapes. Here at the Kyoto National Museum, we hold an exhibition of dolls every year sometime between February and April in celebration of the Doll Festival.
If you ever come to the museum during the doll exhibition, you will see three step-altars as you walk in the door. Look at the photos of these three altars below.
This altar has a gorgeous pavilion on the top step. The set of dolls was made in the city of Kyoto in the 19th century, during the Edo period.
This enormous altar has seven steps. These dolls were made in Tokyo in the 1920s (late Taisho to early Showa period).
The dolls on this step-altar were made in Kyoto in 1935 (Showa 10).
In addition to dolls, these altars display many beautiful and luxurious decorative accessories. Look again carefully at the three altars. Can you see any things displayed on the two altars made in Kyoto that are not on the altar made in Tokyo? The Kyoto-made altars have miniature kitchens and hearths for cooking. You will never see such objects on altars made in Tokyo because kitchen implements are a specialty of doll sets made in Kyoto. Tokyo dolls have their own specialties too; doll sets from Tokyo are tall with many steps. They also have many chests, shelves and other furnishings to display with the dolls. This kind of lavish exhibit is a Tokyo tradition that has been handed down since the Edo period. In fact, Edo is the old name for Tokyo. In the old days, you could quickly see the difference in style between doll sets made in Tokyo and those made in Kyoto. Today, however, these differences have almost disappeared.
Do you know when the tradition of displaying hina dolls on March 3rd began? Because the dolls are dressed like court nobles from the Heian period (A.D. 794-1185), so you might think that the Doll Festival is a very old holiday. In actuality, however, the festival did not begin till the Edo period, in the 17th Century. The third day of the third month of the year was a holiday in Japan before that time, but there are no earlier records of doll displays on this day.
The Edo period began in about A.D. 1615 and continued for about 270 years until 1868. Many different kinds of dolls were made over this long period of time. Dolls that are standing up are called tachi bina, or "standing dolls."
Standing dolls are a very old type of Japanese doll that continued to be made during the Edo period.
Dolls that are sitting down are called suwari bina, or "sitting dolls." Sitting dolls evolved during the Edo period. There are many different categories of sitting dolls based differences in form, face shape and clothing.
The oldest type of sitting doll is called "Kanei bina." Look at the picture of two Kanei bina below.
The Kanei bina are little dolls. The Empress doll has her arms spread apart, but her hands are hidden inside her sleeves. She wears a very old style of Japanese outfit, with a pair of wide culotte-like trousers called a hakama over her layers of kimono.
The second-oldest sitting doll category is the "Genroku bina." Look at the picture of a set of Genroku bina below.
They look somewhat like the Kanei-bina, but they are a little bigger. Can you see the difference between the Empress Genroku bina above and the Empress Kanei bina? Do you see how the Genroku bina is holding her hands out in front of her? Her clothing is different too. She is wearing an outfit similar to the twelve-layered court costume of the Heian period, called a juni hito'e.
These Kanei bina and Genroku bina were made in the 17th century, during the first half of the Edo period. At this time, the dolls came in sets of one or two and were displayed simply on a low, one or two-stepped platform with a "hina screen" behind them.
In the years to come, the size of the dolls grew as a new kind of hina doll, known as the "Kyoho bina," became popular.
By the late Edo period, it became popular to decorate the top steps of the altars with lavish pavilions. In Edo (Tokyo), the doll altars were often built seven or eight steps high! By the time the "Kokin bina," shown below, became popular, it had become the tradition to display other dolls below the imperial pair. Among these were the Three Court Ladies (Sannin Kanjo) dolls and Five Musicians (Gonin bayashi). Their additions made the Doll Festival displays more lavish than ever, creating a style that is still seen today.
Text by Shigeki Kawakami, Department of Applied Arts Illustrations by Satoshi Ichida, Department of Public Relations English translation by Melissa M. Rinne, Department of Archives
JAPANESE TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS
– HINAMATSURI and TANGO NO SEKKU –
By Totsuka Takashi (c/o Togyoku)
Hinamatsuri and Tango no Sekku
In Japan when a girl is born, a set of Hina dolls are displayed in the home for one month before the Hinamatsuri, a festival for girls which takes place on March 3. Traditionally, a set of hina dolls is given by the mother’s parents. On the day of the festival, relatives and close friends are invited to celebrate with ushiojiru (traditional clam soup), hina-arare (colored poprice) and shiro-sake (white sake), The Hinamatsuri is a symbol of the family’s deepest wishes that the girl will grow up healthy and kind, and have a happy marriage and good fortune in her life.
The Festival for boys on May 5 is called Tango no Sekku, Families with sons display a set of May Dolls, and Kei-Nobori (carp streamer) are put up outside their homes. Iris leaves are hung under the eaves. In order to eradicate evil; people take a bath with iris leaves; they put devotional offerings of seasonal foods, such as Kashiwa-mochi or chimaki (rice cake wrapped with oak or bamboo leaves), on the home altar, and eat the same foods in wishing the boy will grow up healthy and strong.
Hina Dolls, May Festival Doll, and Carp Streamer
1. Hina Dolls
The Origins of the Hina dolls date back to around 1,500 years ago, and the types we have today were developed about 200 years ago in the late Edo period. Every set of Hina dolls contains, at the very least, a set of Emperor and Empress Dolls. Although they resemble the imperial couple, There is no intention of Emperor worship. Nowadays, there are many families displaying simply these two dolls, but the full complement includes three ladies-in-waiting, five musicians, two chancellors and three court vassals, In total there are 15 dolls displayed on seven shelves.
2. Boys’ Festival Dolls
Between 50 and 100 years ago, the dolls mainly represented brave samurai warriors and the heroes of fairy tales. These days the centrepiece of the May Dolls is the artistic warrior’s helmet and armor. At the same time as celebrating the birth of the child, the dolls are displayed in a symbol of hope for his protection, health and success in life.
3. Carp Streamer – Koi-nobori
The origin of these streamer lies in the traditional Chinese story that says carp swim against the fast flowing Yellow River, to climb up a waterfall called the “Ryumon” where they then become dragons and rise up in the sky. The Japanese idiom, “Toryumon” (climbing up the Ryumon fall) derives from this story, meaning to successfully cross a barrier. The flying of the Koi-nobori announces the birth of a boy to heaven, and is a symbol of hope for his protection, healthy and success in life.
Hina Dolls; An ambassador for Japan
Sato Yoshiyasu, a former Japanese ambassador to China, contributed the following article in a Newspaper on March 3, Hinamatsuri Day:
When I was working abroad, I used to leave the dolls behind. But I took them to Paris and Beijing. Every year for the last six years, I have displayed the dolls for a month from the beginning of February in the guest room. The dolls have served as excellent diplomats. In Paris, even the highly cultures Parisians declared that they are “gorgeous.” My wife has to assist me in answering the many questions. In Beijing, during the third month of the Chinese calendar the peach blossoms begin to bloom like they do in Japan. Even so, there is nothing resembling Momo no Sekku (another name for Hinamatsuri); there is no custom like our Tango no Sekku and no custom of displaying dolls. The Chinese people were amazed at the Hina Dolls. One of my fondest memories is that of the wives of some ambassadors in Beijing who had also served as ambassadors to Japan standing mesmerized in front of the shelves where the dolls were displayed. “What a lovely custom!” they declared.
When living abroad one can see more clearly the wonderful things about one’s own country. A festival which is held to pray for the healthy upbringing of girls is unique to Japan. Apparently it has a history of thousands of years. In the Edo period, commoners were admonished against the decorations becoming too gaudy, and so simple ones became more fashionable.
The Momo no Sekku and Tango no Sekku, showing the Japanese people’s desire for prosperity for their children and grandchildren, is a traditional festival to be proud of. So, hoping that these festivals will continue for a long time for the children’s sake, I will drink shiro-zake tonight Cheers!
Making the Hina Dolls
Hina Dolls can be divided in to two types – costumed and wooden. Both types are completely hand-made.
1. Costumed Dolls
The dolls face, kashira, is traditionally made of Tousa, a mixture of paulownia sawdust and wheat starch, but nowadays they are almost always made of plaster. The boy is made of tightly bound straw. The clothes are made from beautiful Kyoto Nishijin woven cloth. The hands and feet are usually made of resin but occasionally carved from wood. Saitama prefecture is the best-known region producing these dolls, but they are also made in Tokyo, Shizuoka, Kyoto and Fukuoka. There remain about 300 craftsmen in the country.
2. Wooden Dolls, kimekomi
The body is traditionally made of Tousa, but more recently a new, improved material made of paulownia sawdust and resin is used. There are three types of head: tousa, ceramic or plaster. The most common type is dressed in clothes made from Kyoto Nishijin cloth. Iwatsuki in Saitama prefecture and Tokyo are the main producing regions, and there are around 200 craftsmen. Edo Art dolls, kimekomi, have been designated as national traditional craftsmen. In Iwatsuki, two such craftsmen are registered as intangible prefectural treasures of Saitama.
Iwatsuki – Town of Dolls and Craftsmen
Iwatsuki is a former castle town, and many pilgrims stopped over in the town on their way to the famous NIkko Toshogu Shrine. The paulownia powder produced in this area is excellent for making dolls. The high quality of water is also extremely good for dissolving gofun, the white powder made of crushed shells that is used for painting the dolls. It is said that the craftsmen who worked on the building of the Nikko Toshogu Shrine were impressed by this characteristics and stayed to make dolls. Now, there are about 300 workshops in Iwatsuki, and about 3,000 people are involved in making dolls, which make Iwatsuki Japan’s number one doll-making town.
About 150 years ago, around the time that the black ships of commodore Perry arrived in Edo bay, there was a lord-doctor of the Iwatsuki clan named Totsuka Ryuken. He made dolls as his hobby, and one day he gave one of them to his feudal lord. The lord praised the doll, and honoured the doll maker with the name Togyoku. He became a professional doll maker, and passed the name down to each generation; currently we have the sixth generation of Togyoku.
TYPES OF HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONAL JAPANESE DOLLS
Hina Doll
From ancient Japan, people transferred their misfortunesbefallen them to dolls and exorcised them on March third. The dolls are called Hitogata or Katashiro which are human figure made of paper or straw and used to be set adrift at sea or down a river. This custom was connected with the “doll –house-play” among girls during Heian period and developed into Hina Festival of today.
Today as just as olden day households with young girls, we display Hina dolls and celebrate Hina dolls and celebrate Hina Festival to pray for their happiness on March third.
May Doll
Since ancient time in Japan, People traditionally hold the boy’s festival to drive away evil spirits on May fifth-Tango-. In Edo period samurai family displayed banners and military armors to celebrate their heir and ordinary citizens also followed this custom. Later on the hand-made miniature warrior-doll-helmets were displayed among ordinary citizens.
The custom to display helmet and armors,and May dolls represents brave samurais or healthy boys on May fifth originally comes from the above custom.
Court Doll
These artistic dolls started to appear around the middle of Edo period.
Some of the characteristics of these dolls as follows. Bare plump little boys with big heads and pure white skin painted over and over again with Gofun, a white paste made from ground shells.
The name of these dolls originates from the custom of the Imperial court to give away, dolls as gifts to the people who visited the court in Kyoto.
Kyo-Doll
This is a generic term for high quality dolls made in Kyoto. Kyoto has been one of the main doll-producing districts in Japan from the past. Especially in Edo period various kinds of dolls like Hina dolls were made in the city.
The dolls of the time wore typically high-quality fabrics such as Nishijin silk or cloth using Yuzen-style dyeing. The two are the main textile products in Kyoto.
Military armor and helmet
These are the main accesary decorations on May fifth “Tango”. At the beginning of Edo period samurai families used to display them to celebrate the birth of the boy while ordinary citizens used a hand-made helmet called Iris helmet to decorate the gateway. In the later years of Edo period this display was moved indoors and the armor was added to it. Its handcraft become sophisticated and they are displayed on chest.
Since Meiji period they have been called Yoroi-kazari and Kabuti-kazari and are the main decorations along with May dolls on the Boys Festival Day.
Kintaro
Kintaro was born as a child of Yamanba who lived on the mountain called Asigara-yama in Hakone (Yamanba is a woman who has a spiritual power, and living in the mountain). The boy grew up steadily along with his friends, a bear and a rabbit, and is more he was blessed with an extraordinarily healthy body and strength.
And later, when he became a worthy samurai he was given the name Sakatano Kintoki. Thus, Kintaro is well known as symbol of a sturdy and a healthy child through a fairy tale and a children’s song. And even today, Kintaro dolls are displayed as Gogatu Ningyo.
Momotaro
Momotaro was born of a peach. He grew up to be a brave boy and he, accompanied by a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, conquered the demons which were distressing the folks in OnigashimaIslands.
This fairy tale written in the Muromachi era is full of varied leachings, therefore it is popular among the people. Many of Gogatu Ningyo have been made based on the characters of Momotaro’s story.
Hakata Ningyo
A Hakata Ningyo is a clay doll made around Hakata district in Fukuoka city in Kyushu. It is said that the old history of Hakata Ningyo goes back to the first period of the Edo era.
Hakata Ningyo is made from the clay gathered in the suburbs of Hakata. It is used for shaping figures. After the clay is shaped into a figure it is baked at low temperature, and the colours are painted beautifully on its surface.
Oyama Ningyo
An Oyama Ningyo is typically Japanese doll dressed in a beautiful costume and it expresses woman’s beauty and graceful figure. This kind of doll has been produced since the Edo area. It has been loved so much by people that it has always been displayed at Hina Festival. An Oyama Ningyo is made based on the costume of an era, many of which are mainly ideas from Noh play and Kabuki dancing. Above all, Dojoji, Fujimusume and Shiokumi, etc are preffered.
Yuya
Yuya is the figure of the main character “Yuya” in a Noh play. A beautiful lady, Yuya, beloved of Tairano Munemori, wondered whether she would attend Hana-no-Utage or not because she knew that her mother would be seriously ill on the very day the Hana-no-Utage was to beheld, so she expressed her feeling in a poem.
Consequently, she was allowed by munemori to leave for her mother’s place.
Tomoe
Tomoe is the main character of the Noh play “Tomoe”. Tomoe, Kiso Yoshinaka’s beloved wife, was beautiful lady. More over she possessed a very brave spirit and often went to war as a warrior to support Yoshinaka.
When Yoshinaka lost a battle, Tomoe was about to kill herself to die with him, but he stopped her from doing so. She went home reluctantly.
Buyo-Ningyo
The traditional Japanese public entertainment, Kabuki, which has been popular among the theatre going-public for a long time, has many dance dramas.
Beautiful costumes, Buyo-Ningyo full of sweet facial expressions and lovely gestures were crested based on many dance dramas. Buyo-Ningyos have been loved by the public and are displayed during the Hina Festival.
Warabe Ningyo
A Warabe Ningyo expresses a child’s cute facial expressions and gestures. They are used as ornament and are displayed on the occasion of Hina Festival.
Hanayome
A Hanayome is a doll dressed in a traditional Japanese wedding costume. A Japanese bride ordinarily puts a garment called Uchikake on her Kimono and she has her hair dressed in the style called Bunkin Takashimada. She also puts Tunokakushi on her head. Tunokakushi means that a bride can get along with her husband if she doesn’t reveal her true self.
Tsuzumi
Tsuzumi expresses how peacefully a beautiful lady strikes Tsuzumi, one of traditional Japanese percussion instruments. Tsuzumi has been used as an accompaniment in Japanese classical music and even today, it is an essential accompaniment of Noh play and Kabuki play.
Mai-ougi
A Mai-ougi is one of the important stage properties essential to the Japanese classical dancing. It adds beauty to a dancer’s gesture. Sometimes, it expresses not only windstorms, symbols of the four seasons, such as flowers and red leaves, but also human feelings. This dolls is a lady’s figure dancing with a beautiful maiogi.
Okina
The Noh play, Okina is a dancing of grateful in prayer for an abundant harvest of five kinds of grain and for blessings over the land on New Years Day. The Noh player dances solemnly in costume called Eboshi, Kariginu.
Renjishi
It is said that the lion in Seiryo-zan in Toh (The ancient China) would kick his cubs down to the bottom of ravine to raise only strong off springs that can creep up to him.
Two lions, a father and his cub dance splendidly expressing how strictly and affectionately the father lion trains his cub.
Kagamijishi
When Kagamijishi was held at O-oku in the Edo castle in the early spring, a lady’s maid, Yayoi danced in celebration obsessed with the spirits of a lion. Her lion dance was spectacular with her white hair waving and swaying.
Takasago
This song is considered a typical Noh song of blessing to celebrate love and peace between a husband and a wife who have lived a long life together.
The old couple is the spirit of the Aioi-no-Matsu ( Aioi Pine tree) on the seashore of Takasago and Sumiyoshi.
Shiokumi
Matsukaze, a woman diver, is longing for Arihara No Yukihira who has gone back to the Capital. She dances with Yukihira’s Eboshi (Head gear) and Suikan (dress) a woman-diver’s-straw-like rain-cape around her waist. She suspends from her shoulders a bar with wooden buckets to scoop up water from the sea.
Shojo
God send an orang-utan to Kofu, a dutiful son who sold sake. God gave him a sake pot which sparkles with never-ending sake. The origin of this dance is a Noh piece, based on Chinese fables.
Hagoromo
While relaxing a heavenly maiden hung her Hagaromo (a robe of feathers) on a pine tree on the seashore in Miho-no Matsubara.A fisherman came by and tried to carry the Hagoromo away. The heavenly maiden asked him out return it, explaining that if she lost it, she couldn’t return to heaven. She was able to get it back by showing him a magnificent heavenly dance.
Dojoji
When Hanako, a Shirabyoshi (a dancer who dances, tapping the hand drum with her finger tips) came to Dojyoji Temple to attend a memorial service for a bell, she was asked to dance in front of the bell by a monk of the temple. First, she dances solemnly, wearing a coronet, and holding a Chukei (a fan). Then she dances gracefully this time holding a woven hat, and beating the hand drum.
Yaegaki Hime
Yaegaki Hime is the daughter of Uesugi Kenshin, who protected by the benevolent God Suwa Myojin, and wearing Suwa Hossho’s helmet, her family treasure, was able to cross the lake as if she were flying.
Hagoita=Battledore
Hanetsuki (battledore and shuttlecock) began in the Muromachi period (about 1340-1550). According to the pictures which depicts Hanetsuki of the Momoyama period (around 1600), t he branches of plum tress or Sagicho (The ceremony of New Year day’s exorcism in the Imperial court) were drawn on the Hagoita. When the Hagoita started to bear paddled pictures of the figures of Kabuki actors in the latter part of the Edo period, it became much more gorgeous and become popular among commoners. The reason for displaying Hagoita during the New Year’s Days and for presenting a Hagoita to the newly born baby girl today is to dispel ill spirits sothat she will grow up healthy.
Fujimusume
Wisterias in full bloom are all over the place. A beautiful girl who seems like a spirit of a wisteria appears, holding up a twig of a wisteria and dances, showing her various feelings of love as the songs go on.
Hamayumi=Decorative Bow, supposed to ward off evil
Hamayuwmi has the meaning warding off evil. It has been used in Shrines for a long time. It is said that Hamayumi has been popular among people since the middle of the Heian period (about 800-1200).
“Meigen”- The ceremony to ward off evil spirits, using a bow and arrows was held when a prince was born at the Imperial Court. It is said Hamayumi had its present form since the Kamakura period (1192-1333). In the Edo period the custom displaying hamayumi on the New Year Days for newly born baby boys began among the warrior, the tradesmen and artrisants families. It spread all over the country. The custom of displaying Hamayumi during the New Year Days is based on these traditions. It carries a wish that a baby boy will grow up healthy, thus, dispelling various ill spirits is part of these tradition.
Ichimatsu Ningyo
The origin of Ichimatsu Ningyo came from Sanogawa Ichimatu. He was a popular actor who played female roles in Kamigata Kabuki in the Edo period (about 1600-1800).
This doll was made to represent him. The dolls represent boys and girls with movable hands and feet. Their clothes can be changed and they can be carried around. They can be folded into three pieces. They are extremely lovely, full of Japanese beauty and loved by Japanese.
Asazuma
This dance was based on the picture drawn by a painter, Hayabusa Icho in the Edo period. He painted Funame (Entertainer on a boat) in Asazuma no Sato.
She dances in beautiful Shirabyoshi (A dancer who dances, tapping the hand drum with her fingertips) clothes, in a boat, floating on the lake on a moonlight night.
-Excerpt from the translated handbook of Japanese Dolls produced by the Iwatsuki Dolls Association Kumiai,Saitama Prefecture, Japan
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