Hinamatsuri 雛祭り

The Doll Festival. It is the Girls’ Festival celebrated on March 3. It is also a seasonal festival called Momo-no-sekku featuring peach blossoms.
A group of beautifully dressed dolls are displayed on tiers of shelves in the home of the family that has a young girl. The dolls represent members of the ancient imperial court. The Emperor and the Empress (dairi-bina) are displayed on the top shelf, and their two eminent lords (udaijin and sadazjin), three ladies (sannin-kanjo), five musicians (gonin-bayashi), and three servants are arrayed below them. Even small representations of furniture and foods are displayed on the lower shelves. Hinamatsuri dates from the medieval times, but the custom of displaying dolls in this fashion started in the eighteenth century. Whereas originally the handmade dolls were thrown into the river along with offerings on March 3, today the commercially made and expensive dolls are stored away for the next year. They are often passed from generation to generation. Sweet rice wine called Shirozake is prepared as well as special dishes on this girls’ day.