Hina Matsuri, The Doll Festival in Japan is on March 3rd
In Japan, on March 3rd, Hina Matsuri, people pray for their daughters’ future happiness, health and growth.
Hina means doll and matsuri means festival, so Hina Matsuri is literally Doll Festival. It’s also Girls’ Day. Yet another name for the day is Momo no Sekku meaning Peach Blossom Festival, because this is around the time the peach blossoms bloom. Peach blossoms also are a symbol for a happy marriage.
The hina used for this festival are called hina ningyo. These are a set of dolls that are handed down from generation to generation which are only taken out for this festival. The hina ningyo are displayed on a special stand that has tiers which are covered in red cloth. The two most important hina are the Emperor and Empress. They sit on the top tier. On the second tier are 3 ladies in waiting. On the third tier sit 5 male musicians. One plays a drum, one plays a flute and the third is a singer. The fourth tier has 2 ministers, followed by 3 servants on the fifth tier. The sets have up to 15 dolls, but not all families have the whole set. Many will just have a couple of dolls, often a man and a lady on one tier. Others will use paper dolls.
The tradition of displaying dolls for Hina Matsuri dates back to the Edo or Tokugawa Period, which was from about 1600 to 1867. It comes from an old custom in China to float paper dolls down the river to take away evil spirits. This is still practiced in some places in Japan and is called Hina Nagashi Matsuri or Floating Dolls Festival. The girls will place two paper dolls in a boat made of wood or straw with rice cakes to take away bad luck, illness and misfortune. In some places they will float paper dolls down the river without a little boat.
Girls dress up specially on this day in their best kimonos. Some girls will dress up like the dolls and have little parties. They will serve hishi mochi which are diamond-shaped rice cakes with three to five layers. They also serve a mild sweet white saki called shirozake.
There’s an old traditional song that’s sung for the Festival. Here it is in transliterated Japanese, and with a loose English translation…
Hina Matsuri Song
Transliterated JapaneseAkari o tsukema sho bon bori ni
O hana o agemasyo momo no hana
Gonin – bayashi no fue daiko
Kyoo wa tanoshii Hina MatsuriLoose English Translation
Let’s light the lanterns on the tiered stand
Let’s put peach blossoms on the tiered stand
Five court musicians are playing flutes and drums
Today is a happy Dolls’ Festival.
Japanese Text for the Hina Matsuri Song
Please see the comments below this post for the other three verses to the Hina Matsuri Song, in Japanese text only.
Here’s another version of the Hina Matsuri Song.
Right after the festival, the dolls are supposed to be put away. If not, it’s thought that the daughter will be slow to marry.
Happy Hina Matsuri!
Lisa
You can read more about the Origin of Hina Matsuri and Hina Nagashi Matsuri in a later blog post.
You can visit the Mama Lisa’s World Hina Matsuri Song Page for sheet music for this song.
Many thanks to Sakura and Hatsami for singing the Hina Matsuri Song and to Peter Galante of Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com for allowing us to use this wonderful recording! The recording is from their podcast about the Hina Matsuri Festival (it’s mainly in English).
Many thanks to Devon of Head, Shoulders, Knees and all that and Ayako Egawa for bringing this festival to my attention, and to Devon for sending me the Japanese text.
Check out Origami Instructions to make Hina Dolls
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Japan Page for more Japanese Songs with their English translations.
March 4th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Devon, who sent me the Japanese text in the entry, wrote me…
Actually, there are four verses to the “Hina Matsuri Song”, but I think the other 3 are kind of like the extra verses of “Mary Had Little Lamb”… most people don’t know them.
Here are the other three verses…
August 20th, 2006 at 2:13 am
Could someone translate the last 3 verses of this song. I love this song so much but can’t read all the japanese characters.
November 15th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
put it in an online translator!
November 15th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
The 4 verses above aren’t in computerized text – it’s a graphic. So you can’t use an online translator, unless someone provides the Japanese text in computerized form.
November 17th, 2006 at 6:32 am
Online translators have limits! Here are the results of two online translators for the first verse of “Sakura”. Even if someone’s very smart and uses his/her head, I doubt that s/he can put that into proper English if s/he doesn’t know anything about Japanese unless s/he goes to Wiki Sakura page to pick the correct translation.
1- If you look around the cherry tree cherry tree and it is good the sky, now then the haze or the cloud it smells and comes out and is sly now then and in seeing the ゆ can
2- If the Sakura Sakura and it is good as for the ã?? and others you see and transfer now then the haze like this it smells and is and is sly now then and in seeing the ゆ can
March 1st, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Here’s the computerized Japanese text to the whole song…
I believe the name of it is うれしいひなまつり, meaning Happy Girls’ Festival. Can anyone confirm that is the name?
あかりをつけましょ ぼんぼりに
お花をあげましょ 桃の花
五人ばやしの 笛太鼓
今日はたのしい ひな祭り
お内裏様（ﾀﾞｲﾘｻﾏ）と おひな様
二人ならんで すまし顔
お嫁にいらした ねえさまに
よく似た官女（ｶﾝｼﾞｮ）の 白い顔
金のびょうぶに うつる灯（ﾋ）を
かすかにゆする 春の風
すこし白酒（ｼﾛｻﾞｹ） めされたか
赤いお顔の 右大臣（ｳﾀﾞｲｼﾞﾝ）
着物をきかえて 帯しめて
今日はわたしも はれ姿
春のやよいの このよき日
なによりうれしい ひな祭り
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
amazing site it rocks
=-]