Hina matsuri is a girl's festival (also called 'dolls festival'). This is celebrated because the parents want their children to grow strong and healthy. This happens on March 3rd (third day of third month). On this day parents of the girls get a doll shrine. My house in Japan was small so we only set up the first step of the shrine but actually there are more.

In our house we set up the
first step of the doll shrine.

It doesn't matter how many steps there are but the nice ones have about 8 steps in total. The doll shrine is covered with red cloth. These dolls are called hina ninngjyow. Hina means princess and ninngiyow means doll. These dolls represent a royal family in Japan, long time ago, in Heangidai Heian period (794-1192) about 1300 years ago.

A larger doll shrine representing the
Japanese royal court of the Heian period.

On the top step, there is an empress and an emperor and on the other steps are people the noble classes. On the second step there are three ladies holding Japanese rice cakes. On the third step there are five musicians holding Japanese traditional instruments and on the 4th step there are four men and beside them there are two cherry blossoms. On the last step in this picture there are 10 pieces of furniture.

During Hina matsuri girls wear kimonos and they eat hina-arale, The children drink ama-sake, a rice wine that is made especially for girls during Hina matsuri. It has no alcohol in it so children can drink it without worrying.

Kodomo-no-i is a day for children. This festival happens on 5th of May (fifth day of fifth month). Well, actually it is suppose to be "Children's Day" everyone calls it "Boy's Day". On "Boy's Day", the family who has a son goes outside and flies huge carp-shaped streamers (koinobori) (see picture right) in their garden. Actually the height of this is really as tall as a 3-story house. Girls do not have this but our family has one because I begged my father. (Click on the graphic and hear special music about these streamers.)

On this day we don't have to go to school. Only boys on this day wear something called Gogatsu-ningyo, dolls of famous warriors and other heroes. This is the cabuto I have made. This cabuto actually came from this armor. The armor is only for looking at and it is not meant to be worn.

An example of a Japanese warrior
doll shown on Children's Day.

On this day we eat kashiwamochi. This is a rice cake, which is covered up with a leaf we can eat and filled with bean paste. Children love to eat this.

In Japan, we celebrate a festival call Shichi-go-san. Shichi stands for 7, go stands for 5 and san stands for 3. This festival is celebrated on 11th of November. Only the children who are 3, 5, or 7 are supposed to celebrate it. During this festival, they wear kimonos and girls wear hair bands like this. The parents only celebrate this festival for children who are 3,, 5, or 7 years old because it is believed that these are the when the children's bodies are growing the best. Actually when the child is 3 years old both children (boys and girls) celebrate it but when the child is 5 years old, only the boys are suppose to celebrate it. When the child is 7 years old, only the girls are supposed to celebrate it. But almost every place in Japan celebrates it in all the same time so they think it is not important if they celebrate it for girls or boys.

In Japan parents who have a boy or girl, go to a nearby temple and pray to make their daughter/ sons strong and healthy.After they finish praying they go around to their neighbors' house and say to them "thank you for taking care of our daughter/son". When they are finished thanking the neighbors, they give sweets to their child. One of the sweets they get from the temple comes in a bag decorated with cranes and turtles and has 3 long candies in it (see image on the right). This candy is called chitose-ame (thousand-year candy) . This is very sweet and it lasts very long because the candy is quite long and it is about 1.5 cm wide.

1. XXX published 1984 in Tokyo
2. XXX published October 1987 in Tokyo
3. Internet resources (see below)
4. Me and my family