Hina-Matsuri : Festival for Japanese girls on the 3rd March

Hina-Masturi 雛祭りis a festival for Japanese girls, which has thousands of years of history. It’s called the Peach festival too because that week is the season of peach flowers. Around when I was a kid, many houses decorated Hina-dolls in each house.

Now there are many types of Hina-dolls which are made and sold. Because traditional dolls are very expensive and it’s a heavy work to decorate those dolls. So my wife has some kinds of Hina-dolls which are very small.

This festival originated in China in the 6th century, it's said. But it’s not clear when this ritual was transferred from China. I think that the oldest novel “Genji Monogatari 源氏物語” would be written back then.

When it comes to the 5th of May, the Japanese boys festival is held. This is called Tango-no-Sekku 端午の節句. So, when I was a kid we often joked. “If so, what festival is the 4th of April?” “It’s a festival for gay boys” Although, it was a bad taste joke.

At the beginning of March, plum blossoms are still in bloom. Cherry blossoms are not yet.