okinawa: what is hina matsuri

Hina Matsuri 🎎 is also called "peach blossom festival" (桃の節句 momo no sekku), as the peach tree is renowned for its ability to ward off demons, and its fruit is a longevity symbol. The date of the celebration corresponds to the beginning of the peach trees blooming, from late February for the earliest.

March 3 is one of the 5 sekku (節句) celebrations that mark the passing of seasons, with:

• January 1 (New Year),
• May 5 (Kodomo no hi or Children’s day),
• July 7 (Tanabata or Star festival), and,
• September 9 (Kiku no sekku or Chrysanthemum Festival).

These dates, with the same odd number for day and month, were considered propitious days highlighted by celebrations and the enjoying of typical dishes.

During Heian period when the celebration started to develop, the word hina (ひな, also pronounced hiina ひいな) was used for small dolls made of paper, clay or wood with which little girls played. Back in the days, "Playing dolls" (hiina asobi ひいな遊び) was one of little girls’ favorite plays, like today. Seasoned linguists may have spotted that hina is frequently written with the character雛, which means "chick" or "hatchling" and is homophonous to hina meaning "doll." Associated with another character, it adds the meaning of "cute and small." With the popularization of the spring celebration and the use of human image for this, the festival became the "cute dolls" (hina ningyo ひな人形 or 雛人形) festival.

What are the origins of Hina Matsuri?

Nowadays, the dolls’ festival consists in exhibiting precious ornamental dolls on a several tiers display rack or hina dan (ひな壇), covered with a red cloth (dankake 段掛) and decorated with branches of peach trees, cherry trees 🌸 or tachibana orange trees. The current form of Hina Matsuri dates back to Edo period (1603-1868). This festival and the dolls were initially celebrated in the Imperial court and among the nobility, then from the 18th century, the tradition spread all over Japan, first in the warrior class’ families, then to the rest of the people.

Several roots, sometimes intertwined, to this tradition can be traced:

• The origin of the celebration is said to date back to Heian period (794-1185). At the time, human-shaped figurines were thought able to attract human’s infortune and impurities, thus used during Shinto rituals. Members of the Imperial Court offered dolls to the Imperial Family, especially little girl dolls to the princesses, so they protect them from the infortune and impurities that may have befallen the daughters of royalty.
• Another explanation of Hina Matsuri’s origins is an ancient custom of Kyoto: Nagashi bina (流し雛) or "floatting dolls." Straw dolls were placed on a little boatsreleased into a river. Thus, the miniature ships sailed to the sea to take away bad spirits and misfortune. In these purification rituals, the dolls were worshipped for their protective proprieties.
• It might also be the association of a purification ritual using human-shaped (hinagata ひな形) sheets of paper and the tradition to gift dolls to children. Later, it became a celebration to wish happiness to the girls.

A celebration with many evolutions

The date of this celebration was modified during Meiji era (1868-1912) when Japan officially adopted the Gregorian calendar. In the lunar calendar used until Edo period, the celebration was due on the third day of the third month, or Hina Matsuri in early April according to our current calendar. The influence of the lunar calendar is still visible in some northern regions of Japan, including Tohoku and Hokuriku, were Hina Matsuri tends to be celebrated on April 3. In these cold and snowy areas, spring comes in later, so a date in April makes sense considering their reality.

During Edo period, Hina Matsuri was strongly connected to Kiku no sekku, the Chrysanthemum Festival, on the ninth day of the ninth month, when dolls were displayed again. The chrysanthemum flower is the symbol of the Imperial Family, but also of the sun and longevity. This date is rarely celebrated nowadays.

The habit to precisely recreate Heian court’s costumes for the dolls also appeared during the second half of Edo period. It was the premises of the kokinbina (古今雛 "timeless dolls") dolls made in Edo during the eponymous period and with characteristic features.

Hina Matsuri’s decorations were part of the girls’ dowry, and the number of dolls and their accessories were statements of the family’s wealth.