Today, the third day of the third month, is Hina Matsuri or Doll’s festival. For the past few weeks in homes with daughters, an elaborately tiered display of hina ningyo, or Japanese dolls, adorns the living space. The origin of the festival coincides with the coming of spring and the agrarian belief that now is the time to prepare the earth for planting. Originally paper dolls, believed to hold evil spirits within, were sent afloat down the cold river. Today, it seems more about the dolls and daughters. After families gather to view the doll display, they are returned to storage with the strict edict that if the process of putting the dolls away is not completed promptly, the daughter will tragically never marry. This morning I stopped at the grocery store to buy shrimp for dinner. The woman replenishing the case was singing a song in celebration of the day. Similar in resonance to this:
Akari o tsukemasho bonbori ni
Ohana o agemasho momo no hana
Gonin bayashi no fue taiko
Kyou ha (wa) tanoshii hinamatsuri
Odairisama to ohinasama
Futari narande sumashigao
Oyome ni irashita nee-sama ni
Yoku nita kanjyo no shiroikao
Kin no byoubu ni utsuruhi o
Kasuka ni yu suru haru no kaze
Sukoshi shirozake mesareta ka
Akai okao no udaijin
Kimono o kikaete obi shimete
Kyou ha (wa) watashi mo haresugata
Haru no yayoi no kono yoki hi
Nani yori ureshii hinamatsuri
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