Feasts of Dolls on 3rd of March

Japan traditionally features every 3rd of March to wish girls of all ages good health and well-being. Most families own sets of dolls and bring them out to display on this particular day on a tiered stand. A mild white wine is prepared for this occasion.

In Oigami Hot Spring up in Gunma Prefecture many dolls flocked for display at some 15 tourist joints. A 15-stage mammoth tiered stand was built at the lobby of Tone Tourist Hall to display as many as 4000 dolls.

Hotels and souvenir shops set aside space to sit their own choice of dolls to attract shopping tourists. A woman tourist from Kanagawa found the event a pleasant surprise as she had "had no knowledge of it."

The Oigami Hot Spring will run the dolls feast till April 2.

Elsewhere in Kamakura, the city museum is holding a unique dolly event featuring precious dolls handed down from the Yedo Period.
Kamakura's National Treasures Museum has an exhibition of over 100 dolls mostly made in the Yedo Period. One of them, the so-called Kyoho Bina, stands over 40 centimeters with features resembling a Noh mask - the kind most popular in mid Yedo Period. By the Kyoho Bina were a few centimeters tall Keshi Bina decorated with mini-sized pieces of furniture.

A high school student who came with her parents commented:

"I enjoyed dolls of all kinds and sizes. I loved the one with long-slitted eyes and a skin so smooth."

A curator Mikio Namikawa remarked:

"We have selected the exhibits from among beautiful, precious dolls from the Kamakura Period for as many people as possible to come and enjoy."
The exhibition is open to the public till March 12. (Nathan Shiga)

Source: NHK