Hinamatsuri - celebrating girls
Decked hina doll of the empress on display on the occasion of Hinamatsuri "I have always decorated the dolls since my daughter was small,” recalled Sayoko Takase, pointing to the elaborate display of hina dolls, Hinamatsuri – or the Doll Festival, celebrating girls – which is about good health and future happiness. Elegantly attired in traditional Japanese finery – silk kimono and jewellery – the hina dolls were intricately placed on a pedestal on March 3. “It (Hinamatsuri) is the celebration of health and happiness of girls, it does not matter how large the display of the dolls are, it is the thought that matters,” said Mrs Takase, wife of Japanese ambassador to Jamaica, Yasuo Takase. Her daughter, Yuria, is grown up now, studying in a University in Tokyo, but this occasion still finds relevance. “It is a celebration of being a girl, and I feel proud,” Yuria exclaimed. Hina doll of the Emperor The dolls, are not only pretty faces and grand attires, they have a