Hinamatsuri
aka The Japanese Doll Festival
aka Girls’ Day
Held on March 3rd, the third day of the third month.
Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period which means “peace and tranquility” in Japanese and refers to the years 794 through 1185 — which corresponds to that era when the doll display custom started.
There are customary foods and beverages served and different regional placement orders for the dolls on tiered display … more so horizontally than vertically.
People once thought that the dolls had a power to contain bad spirits.
Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi “doll floating” where straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking troubles or bad spirits with them.
The Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children.
People have stopped doing this now because of fishermen catching the dolls in their nets.
They now send them out to sea, and when the spectators are gone they take the boats out of the water and bring them back to the temple and burn them.
References to the holiday and its activities are often referred to in native film and music. The festival has also been depicted in modern anime.