My Mum thinks that the games I play are a waste of time and perhaps that is true to some extent, but being in constant severe pain, they do tend to save my sanity. Beyond that, however, from time to time, something is included in the online Facebook games that reminds me of the things I love most in life.
Festivals always have been important to me and I have been working on a book about Festivals throughout time and throughout the world for some time. One of my favourite Festivals is Hina-matsuri, a Japanese Festival that is centred on dolls. As a lifelong collector of dolls, it makes me happy to see beautiful collections, even if I do not own them myself.
Today, Family Farm Seaside, a game that I play and for which I write an ongoing guide, released a time-restricted Mission called 'Doll's Day' based on the Hina-matsuri Festival. It reminded me that this is the time of year when Japanese households bring out their treasured Hina-matsuri dolls for display until 3 March.
The actual dolls are known as 'hina-ningyo' and represent the old court of the Emperor and Empress. They can be extremely detailed and valuable although there are contemporary inexpensive dolls as well for those who are not fortunate enough to have inherited a set of hina-ningyo.
I am one of those who displays a card similar to the one shown above. It is from Japan and very beautiful in its own fashion although it cannot compete with a real Hina-matsuri display!
Generally, these dolls are passed down from generation to generation. The Festival also is known as the Peach Blossom Festival or 'Momo no sekku' and peach blossoms are dedicated to the dolls on display. It is a day for the females of our species and girls are honoured and it is hoped that their prayers for good health and fortune are heard.
The traditional Hina-matsuri display is arranged on a red carpet and usually involves five or seven tiers. At the very top are the Emperor and Empress. Below them is the level for three court ladies or 'sannin-kanjo'. The next tier is reserved for five court musicians known as 'gonin-bayashi'. Below them are two ministers known as 'udaijin' and 'sadaijin'. On the lowest tier of a five-tier display are three servants. Other items, such as cherry trees and peach trees and small dishes of festival food are included in the more elaborate displays.
Why is the hina display based upon the court of the Emperor and Empress and, beyond that, figures from a specific historical period? In fact, in many cultures, the Emperor or King was considered either to be descended from a God or to have a divine right or divine blessing in the authority wielded by him.
In Japan, the Emperor was believed to be the descendant of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. After the arrival of Western influence in the form of Commodore Perry, there was a strong movement to purify Japanese culture from ALL foreign influences. I believe that the traditional hina-ningyo represent part of that philosophy.
The Sun is the symbol of the power of Life itself in most ancient cultures. Amaterasu was a very powerful and quite interesting character apart from that power, much like the Goddesses of ancient Sumer and Canaan.
The ancient Japanese philosophy of vitalism made the Sun Goddess particularly important. Light and fire are purifying influences. Vitalism in Japan was connected to a belief that Death was an impurity. Temples dedicated to the Sun Goddess, for example, had to be rebuilt after two decades because the spirit in the wood would have died at that point. After purification ceremonies, a new temple would be erected.
Possibly the most ancient 'dolls' or figures in Japan are the Dogu made of clay. Dogu have been found dating from 10000 B.C. from an era before agriculture. Here is one ancient Dogu. I believe it represents a Sun Goddess:
Rays of light form her hair. The shape of her face is the ancient form of female genitalia, later to become the shape of the 'heart'. To me, it is fascinating to find similar styles and images throughout the ancient world.
Interestingly enough, I met Japanese Emperor Hirohito and the Empress Ngaako years ago in La Jolla when he was presented with a special fish by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. I was fortunate enough to have been friends with a leading professor there and was allowed to attend the reception at a local hotel afterwards. I remember that there were hordes of protestors outside the hotel where the 'audience' was held. They were protesting the ongoing slaughter of whales in Japanese waters. It was sort of an irony and I was a little ashamed to be on the other side of the barrier, although the gala event was something I would not have missed for the world. When I say that I 'met' him, it was only one of those general crowded meetings like the so-called 'private' audiences with the Pope.
Returning, however, to the grand Hina-matsuri Festival, there are many special items that are part of the traditional display as well as special songs dedicated to the Festival. Here is one such song:
| Akari o tsukemashou bonbori ni 明かりをつけましょう ぼんぼりに |
| Ohana o agemashou momo no hana お花をあげましょう 桃の花 |
| Go-nin bayashi no fue taiko 五人ばやしの 笛太鼓 |
| Kyo wa tanoshii Hinamatsuri 今日は楽しいひな祭り |
| Let's light the lanterns |
| Let's set peach flowers |
| Five court musicians are playing flutes and drums |
| Today is a joyful Dolls' Festival! With the display of dolls from the Court are items are special significance if the collection is elaborate. The origin of the Hina-matsuri Festival is steeped in an ancient practice of sympathetic magic by which all the sins and bad luck of an individual or individuals were transferred to a specific object, leaving the person cleansed and purified. There are many practices that involve the creation of a boat that is set on fire and set to float down a river. Originally, the dolls representing the individuals were placed in a boat or simply thrown into a body of moving water. You will find similar practices throughout the ancient world. The Festival therefore originally was for the benefit of the Emperor and his Court. As time passed, however, it came to represent a time for prayers for good fortune and success for the girls of the families who celebrated by displaying the Court dolls. The history of the Festival dates back to |
