Happy Girls' Day!

Today, March 3, is Girls' Day, or Hina Matsuri (doll festival), in Japan. This day is not a national holiday (why not??), but it is commonly celebrated by all families with girls. 

About a month before Hina Matsuri, families with girls begin to display their Hina Ningyō (a set of dolls) in the genkan (front hall of their home) or front windows. The dolls represent the emperor, the empress, their attendants and the court musicians, all dressed in traditional Heian period costumes. This tradition started in the Heian era, after all. It was traditionally believed that dolls could capture and contain bad spirits. In the old days, straw Hina Ningyō were sailed down a river and out to sea, taking the bad spirits with them. 

This is a very traditional and fancy set of Hina Ningyō. Tiny sets of these dolls usually cost over $150, the set in the picture would be worth thousands. So most homes don't have an extravagant setup, unless they are rich.

As with all Japanese events, there is a seasonal drink and food associated with the festival. The drink of Hina matsuri is shirozake, a sweet low alcohol drink made from fermented rice. 

This is shirozake, in peach flavour (momo), the flavour of Hina matsuri. The blossom attached to the picture is a peach blossom. 

There are lots of snacks associated with Hina matsuri. Usually parents will buy their daughters some special girly-looking snacks and they will eat a special dinner. 

One snack is arare, little ball-shaped rice crackers flavoured with soy sauce, or (especially for Hina matsuri) sugar in white, green, and pink. The colourful sweet arare are special for Hina matsuri. 

Another Hina matsuri snack is sweetened rice cakes, layered and cut into a diamond shape. They are called hishimochi.

Depending on the region, they may have more layers and different colours. Here in Kantō, hishimochi have 3 layers, with pink, white, and green layers from top to bottom.

There are other snacks, usually in the same colour theme, or the peach theme. The main course for a Hina matsuri dinner is chirashizushi. Chirashizushi means scattered sushi, and it is a bowl of sushi rice topped with sushi fillings of various raw fish and vegetables. 

I think in these modern times, families also eat a sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries (this is the go to cake for any event: birthday, Christmas, hina matsuri, etc).

As I said before, the dolls are displayed for about a month before hina matsuri. If they are not taken down on March 4, the day after, the daughter will either have a late marriage or never get married at all. Serious consequences...

Around this time, stores display their Hina  Ningyō, and some stores have very fancy sets of dolls. So it is interesting to see them everywhere. Come tomorrow though, they'll all be gone :(