Today I went to a party that my co-worker, Kako, threw for a few friends at her house here in Saijo. The party was in honor of Doll's Festival, as the Japanese call it in English, or what I like to call, Girl's Day Doll Festival. In order to protect young girls from the apparent evil demons that get ushered in with spring, starting from the Heian period (about 1000 years ago, roughly) a festival was begun based on a Chinese festival (very, very loosely based) in which dolls representing the emperor and empress, court attendants, ministers of the emper
or, musicians, and various court furniture and related items would be displayed on a 3, 5, or 7 tiered altar, along with plum, orange, and peach blossoms. March 3rd is also the day of the peach blossom festival, as pea
ch blossoms and peaches, throughout China and Japan, are an auspicious sign. Here's some photos from the festivities. We had a giant feast, including a ton of sashimi (high grade, too! yum--but a little, um, uncomfortably filling!), fried chicken and shrimp, and miso soup, of course. Then, we got to see the altar with the display, listen to the 'Hina Matsuri' song, and even got an impromptu recital from Kako's nieces' (thats them in the picture) piano teacher, Yumeiko.And most of all, thanks to Kako's mom playing amazing hostess, tons and tons of green tea.
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