Hinamatsuri (雛祭り), or Doll Festival, is celebrated on March 3. Families with daughters display ornamental dolls representing the imperial court, arranged on a multi-tiered platform covered in red cloth.
The Display
A full hina doll set has seven tiers:
- Top tier — The Emperor and Empress (dairi-bina)
- Second — Three court ladies (sannin kanjo)
- Third — Five court musicians (gonin bayashi)
- Fourth — Ministers
- Fifth — Servants
- Sixth — Furniture and tools
- Seventh — Carriage and palanquin
Most modern apartments only display the top tier — full seven-tier sets are expensive and space-consuming.
Where to See Displays in Tokyo
Edo-Tokyo Museum — Annual hina doll exhibition with antique sets dating to the Edo period. The museum’s permanent collection includes life-sized hina displays reconstructed from historical records.
Asakusa — Several traditional shops on Nakamise-dori sell miniature hina dolls and decorations during February–March.
Tokyo National Museum (Ueno) — Hina dolls from the shogun’s collection, displayed in late February.
Seasonal Sweets
- Hina-arare — Colorful puffed rice crackers (pink, green, white, yellow)
- Hishimochi — Diamond-shaped rice cakes in pink, white, and green
- Shirozake — Sweet white sake, traditionally drunk on Hinamatsuri
Vocab: 雛祭り Hinamatsuri — Doll Festival / Girls’ Day. 雛人形 hina ningyō — The ornamental dolls displayed for the festival.