Girls' Day

March 3 is Girls' Day in Japan. Big Sister is now in college in the U.S. Here she is at age 9 with her hina matsuri dolls and Little Brother (5) and our dog, May. This is her first Girls' Day away from home.

And this is the first picture I've posted of Big Sister and Little Brother. I never posted any photos of them on the internet because Papa warned me about security. He always told me that we are easy to find. But now, those guys don't look like that at all. Except for the dog. She looks the same. Maybe a little fatter.

Kids Web Japan-- Hina Matsuri

Storing the Dolls After Hina Matsuri

This product is relatively new. It is a cloth that helps protect the hina dolls in storage. Jiji, grandfather, always wanted us to put the dolls away the day after Girls' Day. Any delay would cause a delay in marriage, he said. We try to put the dolls back in storage the day after.

Jiji passed away seven years ago and is not here to remind us or to help store them. He always insisted on wearing white gloves when taking out the dolls and when putting them away. We do that. We have to be careful about oil from our hands and about moisture in the air.

The box shows you how to use the cloth.

Here is another product that protects the dolls. It keeps bugs away.

This is what it looks like. Two come in one packet. There are four packets.

There is a diagram on the back of this box, too, to show you what to do.

Dust the dolls with a feather duster (doll sets come with one), cover them, and slip this product in with them before storing them in the closet.

Happy Girls' Day!

Snacks sometimes have seasonal decorations on their packaging. See the yellow stars in front of the screen surrounded by plum blossoms? They are wearing head ware like the dolls of the emperor and empress in the Japanese doll festival, hina matsuri. This snack is a lightly salted rice cracker. The white splotches are semi-sweet. It is a nice combination of salty and sweet.

Check Kids Web Japan for an explanation of Girls' Day. There is also a story on the site called The Missing Doll. And look here to see how they celebrate in Chiba, Japan.

Click on the labels below for more related HTJ posts. And to see photos of Big Sister's dolls.

Girls' Day

We didn't put Big Sister's dolls out this year because we have a kitten in the house who knows no boundaries. This is a catalog from Isetan, a department store. Check the label below for other posts and photos.

Blossom Cakes for Girls' Day

Papa's aunt sends these cakes to Big Sister and Little Brother every year. This year they were huge! Probably 7" x 5". Can't say for sure. They were eaten up before I thought about measuring them. Measuring cakes sounds weird.

Girls' Day

We set out dolls of the Emperor and Empress in the last weeks of February. Click on the labels below to see more pictures of the dolls.

More Girls' Day Treats

I bought these traditional Girls' Day treats in the food section of a department store (small shops or counters in the basement.) I went to one counter and bought the candy on the left and another counter to buy the puffed rice on the right. Each clerk put the small bag of treats in a paper bag. I carried them home in my vinyl shopping bag (see recent post.)

This is candy called konpeitou (long "o"). It tastes like rock candy. The pink one is lightly flavored with strawberry. The orange has a light orange flavor.

This is puffed rice called arare. It is so lightly sweetened it is almost hard to taste. It reminds me of something, but I can't remember. Do you have something like it?

Sakura Mochi

Shops start selling sakura mochi in February. We buy it for Girls' Day, hina matsuri. This comes from a shop called Akebono. The box is nicely wrapped.

That's a cherry blossom on top. Those are real leaves, too. Some people eat the leaves. I do. They are soaked in salt water. Do not eat leaves, though! You may not pick the right ones. Click on the label below for more posts about sakura.

About.com/Japanese Language-- hina matsuri song

Kids Web Japan--The Missing Doll manga for Girls' Day

Big Sister's Dolls

This is the set of dolls that Baba and Jiji bought for Big Sister before her first hina matsuri. We don't set out its lacquer platform and the silk screen because they are too big for this space. Her set has two ume trees.

Kids Web Japan-- hina matsuri

Kids Web Japan--manga, The Missing Doll

Details of An Emperor

This strap is to lift the doll without touching its silk robes. Actually white gloves are worn when handling them.

Details of An Empress

Layers of silk robes.

Even the back of her fan is decorated.

The Doll's Tables

Lacquer table.

Vases of ume branches.

Painted ume branches.

This is a lacquer table with wooden mochi on top. Real mochi that is diamond shaped and hard is bought and put in front of the dolls. We just use the wooden ones that came with the set. Note, too, that the dolls sit on tatami, straw, mats.

The Dolls' Lamps

Two lamps came with the set of dolls.

This is ume, plum blossom.

This is take, bamboo.

This is matsu, pine.

Aunt's Dolls

Aunt has not married so she still sets her dolls out. She has a set with seven tiers, but she only puts out the Emperor and Empress now. These dolls are over 45 years old. She has set a bag of snacks, a plate of red rice, and a cake on her doll's small tables.

The Emperor.

The Empress has a different hairstyle.