A traditional Japanese doll display has arrived at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. Hina Matsuri, or Japanese Doll Festival, is held on the 3rd day of March. Parents celebrate their daughters' happiness, growth, and good health. The festival has its origins about 1,000 years ago in the Heian Period (794-1192). It is a traditional custom to display ceremonial dolls on tiered shelves covered with scarlet carpet. The dolls are dressed in the fashion of the people of the ancient court. The Emperor and Empress (middle image) are placed on the upper-most tier, followed by the ladies in waiting and ministers. Families generally start to display the dolls around mid-February and take down the platforms immediately after the festival. Superstition says that leaving the dolls out past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter.
This doll display was a gift to Newport News from our Sister City of Neyagawa (Osaka Prefecture). Neyagawa’s mascot (the cartooned image left) is based on the local folk tale of Princess Hachikazuki (Hachikazuki Hime): "the princess with a bowl on her head". Princess Hachikazuki is depicted soaring in the sky, holding a rose, the flower of Neyagawa city, and riding on a cherry blossom petal, the city's official tree.
Read the whole legend and how a bowl came to be on her head by clicking on the mascot!
This doll display was a gift to Newport News from our Sister City of Neyagawa (Osaka Prefecture). Neyagawa’s mascot (the cartooned image left) is based on the local folk tale of Princess Hachikazuki (Hachikazuki Hime): "the princess with a bowl on her head". Princess Hachikazuki is depicted soaring in the sky, holding a rose, the flower of Neyagawa city, and riding on a cherry blossom petal, the city's official tree.
Read the whole legend and how a bowl came to be on her head by clicking on the mascot!
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