Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today’s topic is hinamatsuri (ひな祭り) or Doll’s Festival.

Families with girls celebrate March 3rd as a day to wish for their growth and happiness. This family event originally began in the Edo era and is referred to as the Doll’s Festival because families with girls display a set of dolls representing the emperor, empress, their servants, miniature furniture, and so forth, on a five or seven-tiered stand. The word hina means a small doll. in the ancient days, people made dolls by themselves and threw the dolls into a river along with offerings. It was believed that sickness and ill-fortune would flow away down the river with them. Today hina dolls are sold in specialty shops or department stores, but they are very expensive. Therefore, they are customarily handed down for generations.



March 3rd News, from NILS Japanese language school.