Here and There Japan

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 B...

This product is relatively new. It is a cloth that helps protect the hina dolls in storage. Jiji, grandfather, always wanted us to put t...

Snacks sometimes have seasonal decorations on their packaging. See the yellow stars in front of the screen surrounded by plum blossoms? The...

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...

Papa's aunt sends these cakes to Big Sister and Little Brother every year. This year they were huge! Probably 7" x 5". Can...

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.

I bought these traditional Girls' Day treats in the food section of a department store (small shops or counters in the basement.) I we...

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

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...

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

Layers of silk robes. Even the back of her fan is decorated.

Lacquer table. Vases of ume branches. Painted ume branches. This is a lacquer table with wooden mochi on top. Real mochi that is diam...

Two lamps came with the set of dolls. This is ume , plum blossom. This is take, bamboo . This is matsu , pine.

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. Th...