Hina Dolls on Steps 段飾雛図

Hina Matsuri, the Doll Festival, celebrated on the third day of the third month, has become established as a seasonal event offering prayers for girls’ healthy growth. Now celebrated on March 3, its origins go back to the Heian period (794-1185), when paper figures representing sacred object of worship would be made and offerings presented to them at seasonal festivals, which were days to pray for protection from disease and disaster. In time, those paper figures evolved into small dolls, known as hina dolls, which, in the world of the aristocracy, became toys for girls. The custom of providing girls with hina dolls did not spread to ordinary families until the Edo period (1603-1868). The multi-level display for these dolls developed from the Genroku era (1688-1704) on, with three- to five-level displays usual among Edo townspeople. In the families of the shogun and daimyo, detailed miniatures were made of the full bridal trousseau and would decorate the entire drawing room for the Doll Festival. The print shown here depicts a set of hina dolls on a five-level display. In addition to the emperor and empress dolls at the top, their male attendants, and the five female musicians, this set includes some elements not common among today’s hina dolls: the deity Ebisu holding the sea bream with which he is associated and children dressed like monkey trainers, with a monkey mask and bells in their hands, perhaps replacing the usual three ladies in waiting, and, at the bottom, two papier-mache dog-shaped boxes (otogi inu). Otogi inu had become part of the bridal trousseau among the aristocracy in the Muromachi period (1336-1573). The papier-mache box would decorate the birthing room to symbolize prayers for a safe delivery. In the Edo period, commoners also adopted these prayer objects for a safe delivery and the health of the child, and the little dogs later became playthings. We can understand why they would be displayed at the Doll Festival, which celebrates girls’ healthy growth. Perhaps in some families, prints like this example replaced the hina doll display.