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Anyone can enjoy learning to make dolls. We are always looking for students.
This is a kit of materials that you can make by yourself.
Search by Prefecture
Store ListAnyone can enjoy learning to make dolls. We are always looking for students.
This is a kit of materials that you can make by yourself.
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It is said that “Rome was not built in a day.”
The same is true for Hina Dolls and Gogatsu Dolls.
Festival Dolls have a history of more than a thousand years.
Over the years, the figures of today were formed
by the trial and error of pioneering doll makers and doll dealers.
So, let’s understand the history and tradition of dolls
from the point of view of “Edo and Dolls,” “History of Hina Doll Stores,”
“Transition of Hina Dolls,” and “Japanese Festivals.”
Sekku seasonal festivals brought to Japan’s imperial court from the Tang Dynasty in the Nara Period
have since been celebrated to pray for bountiful harvests as well as good health and prosperity.
These festivals bring people together as events at
which offerings are eaten together with others.
Japanese people hold various Sekku festivals colorfully adorned with seasonal flowers and plants,
including seven spring herbs, peaches, myrtle root, bamboo and autumnal chrysanthemums.
These events were brought to Japan in the Nara Period from China,
where corresponding dates within an odd-numbered month (e.g., January 1st or March 3rd) are considered auspicious.
This concept matched the rhythm of Japan’s rice cultivation-centric culture, making it relevant in daily life even today.
These seasonal festivals are collectively called Gosekku, meaning “five main festivals.” The term was established by the Edo Shogunate based on the long-standing Sekku tradition, and is still used today. In the Edo Period, the New Year’s Day Gosekku festival was regarded as particularly auspicious, with the other four celebrated on January 7 (Jinjitsu-no-sekku, or the Feast of the Seven Herbs of Health), March 3 (Joshi- or Jomi-no-sekku, or the Girls’ Festival), May 5 (Tango-no-sekku, or the Boys’ Festival) and September 9 (Choyo-no-sekku, or the Chrysanthemum Festival).
Each sekku festival has its own significance and traditional offerings of food and drink. As these are consumed communally, the events are referred to as Sekkyo, which literally means “sharing of food.” In the past, people observed these festivals both in a religious sense and as a way to get away from the grind of daily life, giving a chance to enjoy nutritious food for a change of pace and to spend time with others. Today they offer opportunities for interaction with loved ones and a chance to review things in life.
| Festival | Jinjitsu |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Feast of the Seven Herbs of Health |
| Date | January 7 |
| Plant | Seven spring herbs |
| Display items | Battledore and Hamayumi |
| Offerings, foods and drinks | Rice porridge with seven spring herbs |
| Festival | Jomi/Joshi |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Peach Festival (Girls’ Festival) |
| Date | March 3 |
| Plant | Peach |
| Display items | Set of dolls for the Girls’ Festival |
| Offerings, foods and drinks | Mugwort rice cake and tri-color diamond-shaped rice cake |
| Festival | Tango |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Iris Festival (Boys’ Festival) |
| Date | May 5 |
| Plant | Iris |
| Display items | Warrior’s helmet, armor, doll for the Boy’s Festival and carp streamer |
| Offerings, foods and drinks | Chimaki rice-dumpling and Kashiwamochi rice cake |
| Festival | Tanabata/Shichiseki |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Star Festival (Bamboo Grass Festival) |
| Date | July 7 |
| Plant | Bamboo |
| Display items | Star Festival decorations |
| Offerings, foods and drinks | Sakubei Chinese sweets |
| Festival | Choyo |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Chrysanthemum Festival |
| Date | September 9 |
| Plant | Chrysanthemum |
| Display items | Nochi-no-hina dolls |
| Offerings, foods and drinks | Rice boiled with chestnuts, and chrysanthemum sake |
Display of hina dolls for Choyo-no-sekku (the Chrysanthemum Festival)
In ancient China, people believed they would live longer by climbing mountains with a branch of shuyu (a form of fragrant Chinese pepper), drinking chrysanthemum sake and eating on September 9. After the custom came to Japan, nobles celebrated the day by wearing shuyu in their hair to drive away evil and praying for longevity at banquets with chrysanthemum sake. The chrysanthemum has a distinct camphor aroma, whose inclusion in insect repellents today lends scientific credence to the ancient custom.
The custom of drinking peach sake at the Peach Festival, myrtle root sake at the Boys’ Festival and chrysanthemum sake at the Chrysanthemum Festival underpins Japanese people’s interaction at such occasions with belief in the magical powers of these plants.
In the Edo Period, Choyo-no-sekku (the Chrysanthemum Festival) became one of the most important Gossekku festivals to be cerebrated at castles. As the festival is observed on September 9, and 9 is the highest one digit odd number, people in the Edo Shogunate may have prayed for the perpetuity of the period with the festival as a special occasion. Feudal lords presented the Tokugawa Shogunate with various offerings, including figured satin, Habutae silk and other fabrics, as well as red and white rice cakes and fresh and dried red sea bream. One fashion-conscious feudal lord is said to have decorated gifts with chrysanthemum flowers rather than the usual noshi wrapping.
The festival gradually came to be observed by the general public. However, as September on the lunar calendar corresponds to the standard harvest month of October, the event eventually became merged with regular harvest festivals. Nine was considered the luckiest number, and the date was considered ideal for a festival where people made wishes and showed their appreciation to the gods.
In the Kyushu region, festivals are called Kunchi – a derivation of the Japanese word kunichi (the 9th day of the month).
On the eve of the Chrysanthemum Festival, people used to cover chrysanthemums in their gardens with cloth so that the dew would intake their fragrance. On the day of the festival, people would dry themselves with this cloth in prayer for perpetual youth and longevity. As the chrysanthemum was thought to have special powers, people believed that its magic would be transferred to the cloth and protect them. Kisewata was the practice of covering red chrysanthemums with white cloth, white chrysanthemums with yellow cloth, and yellow chrysanthemums with red cloth.
The Old Imperial Palace in Kyoto is believed to have Kisewata materials left by the Empress Dowager Eisho. These were a gift from Emperor Komei on the occasion of the Chrysanthemum Festival in 1848.
To raise awareness of Choyo-no-sekku (the Chrysanthemum Festival) and preserve Japanese tradition, owners of Kyugetsu hina dolls are encouraged to display them again on October 9 via the Nochi-no-hina campaign, based on the lunar calendar, to wish for their own health and longevity. Kyugetsu promotes this initiative using posters in its hundreds of stores and public facilities, and via newspaper advertisements.
As part of the campaign, Kyugetsu released a new Kamibina (literally, “hina doll of God”) in 2013 to encourage owners to display their own pieces as Nochi-no-hina dolls. Kamibina is a guardian doll derived from the Hitogata – an effigy once used as a scapegoat to spare people from misfortune and malaise. People would display these dolls in prayer for the health and happiness of the relevant person. Kyugetsu markets this concept to maintain the display tradition.
Kamibina were originally paper dolls (also rendered as Kamibiha in Japanese), with beauty and elegance showcased in their red and gold color combination and their form. The pair are rendered as flat – the prince standing with hands wide open and the princess dressed in a simplified kimono.
These dolls come in a paulownia wood box with an ofuda paper talisman bearing an old-style Chinese character meaning “congratulations.” The red seal on the talisman is stamped by the chief priest of Tokyo’s Dairokuten Sakaki Shrine (Kuramae, Taito Ward), which has a history of 1,900 years.
The Chinese character represents the congratulatory nature of longevity.