March 1st 2008 Hina Matsuri

Hana Matsuri, which takes placee on March 3rd, is a festival to pray for the health and growth of girls. Families with girls display "hina-ningyo" (special dolls for Hinamatsuri) and dedicate peach blossoms to them. They are usually arranged on a five or seven-tiered stand covered with a red carpet. At the top are the Emperor and Empress. The next step contains three court ladies (sannin-kanjo), followed by five musicians (gonin-bayashi), two ministers (udaijin and sadaijin), and three servants ending the bottom row in a five-tiered display. There are also small pieces of furniture, small meal dishes, and other things. Here is a photo of our setup at the Oba household. The figures are very intricute and the models each have their custom accessories. It was quite the ordeal to put up!