Hina DollsEvery year on March 3rd, Japan celebrates the
Doll Festival (Japanese, Hina Matsuri). Until recently, Girls' Day was also celebrated on March 3rd. On this day every year, families set up a special step-altar on which to arrange their Emperor and Empress dolls, called "
hina" in Japanese. They decorate this altar with boughs of peach blossoms and make offerings to the
hina dolls of freshly made rice cakes (
mochi), either flavored with a wild herb or colored and cut into festive diamond shapes.
Japanese DollsAll these 3 dolls are geisha that are in 3 different occasions/festivals...
Hakata DollsThe commonly accepted origin of Hakata dolls is 17th-century
Hakata; artisans including
Souhiti Masaki produced clay dolls, sometimes presented as gifts to Buddhist temples and to
Kuroda Nagamasa, the ruler of Hakata at that time. These dolls were called Hakata suyaki ningyō
("博多素焼人形", "Hakata unglazed doll"). Hakata also has a famous festival,
Hakata Gion Yamakasa, which involves decorated
Ningyō floats. The floats are made from
wood, but it is believed that the method of production of these floats strongly influenced the Hakata doll. However, recent archaeological evidence discovered during the excavation of Hakata, including simple
biscuit-fired toys, has put the origin of Hakata dolls in
China.
Kokeshi Dolls
Kokeshi (こけし ,kokeshi), are
Japanese dolls, originally from northern
Japan. They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and an enlarged head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face. The body has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of Kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist.
