Happy Girls’ Day 2011

March 3rd is always a special day around our house: it’s hinamatsuri or “Girl’s Day”! I’ve posted a few times before about this special holiday in Japan, and this year is no exception.

I enjoy Hinamatsuri because it makes my daughter very happy, and I get to spoil her a little. Every year we have friends over (Japanese house-wife friends, husbands, etc), and eat good food, while my daughter also enjoys the doll set every year. And now she is old enough to help Daddy set it up. Setting up and taking down the doll set every year is part of my fatherly “duty”, but for me it’s also a fascinating cultural experience because the doll set is very much influenced by the ancient Heian Court culture. Lately, I’ve been re-reading books on the Hyakunin Isshu poem anthology, and exploring aspects of Court life once again.¹ I have a little goal of mine to memorize all 100 poems over the next 10 years, before I get much older and senile.

Anyway, after I setup the doll set a couple weeks ago, I took a couple photos with my wife’s new camera of the doll set up close:

This is the Emperor, or odairisama (お内裏様) in very typical dress for those days. He is holding a wooden scepter, or shaku (尺) and has the tall lacquer cap in the back. The sword is also long and curved, but not like the more well-known samurai swords. Also, notice the white make-up and two black dots above the eyebrows. These were popular trends among the nobility then.

And this is the princess:

Like many women of the Court, she is wearing many contrasting layers of robes. I talked about this at length while exploring Lady Murasaki’s Diary a while back. Although it’s hard to see in this photo, the hair is also very long, and comes down the back and to the right, and the white make-up is similar to that of the Emperor.

Anyway, enough nerd talk. This day is for all the little Japanese girls out there, including my daughter, and I wish every young lady a special day.

P.S. Posted this one day earlier from Seattle’s perspective, but Japan is one day ahead time-zone wise.

¹ Also started a second, much smaller blog devoted to the Hyakunin Isshu. I don’t expect to update it often, but just when the mood is right. Like right about now.