Photographed by youthkee

SN380565

– License

Cherry blossoms

Spring is in the air and I see vibrant colors of the rainbow all around me.  Vivid bright pinks to deep cobalt blues, fresh tropical greens to warm saffron oranges.  The earth is alive and the sun feels warm and cozy on my skin.

On one of those warm and sunny days, I spent a lazy afternoon with my childhood friend Emi.  We both received dessert care packages from Japan and we were excited to share these sweet delights.  We sat on her couch as we waited for the Lupicia muscat grape green tea to steep in the white teapot.  Meanwhile, her 2 black cats yawned and stretched their long limbs in a downward-facing-dog yoga pose before they curled up on the warmest spot on the couch where the sunlight filtered through the window.

Emi's cats

We had baumkuchen and sakura mochi with our green tea.  Baumkuchen is a layered German cake that is known as the ‘King of Cakes’ because it is very labor intensive to make it.  It literally means ‘tree cake’ because of the many thin ring layers it has.  It must be baked layer by layer around a round spit, and some may have up to 25 layers.  The largest baumkuchens can be up to 3 feet long and weigh over 100 pounds! Baumkuchen may be covered with a sugar, chocolate, or jam glaze.  The one we had from Juchheim bakery had a white sugar glaze. There is also something called baumkuchenspitzen, which are the small pieces that drip off the spit which are then coated with chocolate. Just like donut holes, no part of a pastry must go to waste!

Baumkuchen and sakura mochi

Emi provided the sakura mochi, which is a traditional Japanese confectionary.  It means ‘cherry blossom rice cake’, and it’s made with glutinous rice flour with a red bean paste filling.  It’s usually wrapped with salt cured cherry blossom leaves, though this one was not.  Sakura mochi is commonly eaten from March 3rd, which celebrates National Dolls Day, or Girls Day (Hinamatsuri) until the end of March.  It’s a very fitting dessert to enjoy on Girls Day because it’s pink.

Hinamatsuri dolls

Here are some other traditional Japanese treats that I had at my friend’s house for Hinamatsuri last month:

Hinamatsuri treats

Japanese pastries are usually not too sweet.  The subdued sweetness complements the bitterness of green teas, and never overwhelms the taste buds. After Emi and I finished our sweets over a wonderful heart-to-heart conversation, we yawned, stretched our limbs and curled up on the couch next to the cats. Zzzzzzzzz……

Random trivia:  Most families take out their display of dolls around mid-February and put it away immediately after Hinamatsuri is over.  There is a superstition that says that families slow to put away the dolls will have trouble marrying off their daughters!

March 2009

A type of sushi made by rolling sushi rice and toppings in cling film to form little balls. It’s very easy to make. These were for Hinamatsuri, the Doll Festival, on March 3rd. Little girls in Japan display their collection of dolls of the Imperial family and entourage, and eat ball-shaped food and sweets.

I found it hard to make this picture look both realistic and appetising, probably because of the fluorescent lighting in the kitchen. So I dropped the “realistic” requirement, and increased the contrast and saturation, as well as reducing the levels.

Hinamatsuri (also known as Doll’s Festival) was held yesterday on March 3rd, a day to pray for young girl’s growth and happiness.   Most families with girls display hina-ningyo (special dolls for Hinamatsuri) which are usually arranged on a five or seven-tiered stand covered with a red carpet.  At the top are the Emperor and Empress.  The next step contains three court ladies (sannin-kanjo), followed by five musicians (gonin-bayashi), two ministers (udaijin and sadaijin), and three servants ending the bottom row in a five-tiered display.  There are also small pieces of furniture, small meal dishes, and other things.  See the Wikipedia entry on Hinamatsuri for a more complete description.

The dolls wear beautiful ancient court costumes of the Heian period (794-1185).  A traditional set of dolls can be very expensive.  There are various grades for the sets, and some full sets cost more than a million yen.  There is a superstition that if you don’t put away the hina-ningyo soon after March 3rd, the daughter will get married late.

And what is a Japanese festival without special food.  Hishimochi are diamond-shaped rice cakes.  They are colored red (or pink), white, and green.  The red is for chasing evil spirits away, the white is for purity, and the green is for health. Also, Chirashi-zushi, sakura-mochi (bean paste-filled rice cakes with cherry leaves), hina-arare (rice cake cubes) and shirozake (sweet white sake) are also often served.  The picture below was taken from Flickr:

The origin of Hinamatsuri is an ancient Chinese practice in which the sin of the body and misfortune are transferred to a doll, and then removed by abandoning the doll on a river.  A custom called hina-okuri or nagashi-bina, in which people float paper dolls down rivers late on the afternoon of March 3rd, still exists in various areas.   The picture below was taken from Flickr:

Note:  Most of this write-up about Hinamatsuri was taken from About.com.

Today is Hinamatsuri or Dolls Day (aka Girls Day). Hina means “doll” and matsuri means “festival” by the way. It’s always on the 3rd day of the 3rd month. In Japanese households you may see exquisite dolls representing the Emperor and Empress and their court on a red stair-like display. They’re all dressed in the traditional dress of Heian period.

I was lucky enough to have part of the display (just the emperor and empress, 2 lanterns and few other items) and my mom and I would put it up in February all the way until Hinamatsuri. For any boys out there, there is also a Boys’ Day on May 5th (i.e. the 5th day of the 5th month) so don’t feel left out.

I’m not sure why but they tend to refer to both Girls’ and Boys’ Day as Children’s Day now. When I was young they didn’t do that. Maybe they didn’t want to make one gender feel left out on either day.

Anyways, here are some pictures of Hello Kitty representing Hinamatsuri.

Courtesy of love janine

Courtesy of jrosenkr

Courtesy of zoemack

Courtesy of love janine

If you like my blog, please…

Besides the adorable and (mostly) hilarious kids, what’s so great about teaching at a junior high school in Japan you ask? Three words: school lunch baby.

In Japanese, it’s called “kyushoku” and let me tell you something- I love it. It’s always delicious (okay, there was that one time when they served whole squid and I was all, um, no), balanced (we have our own nutritionist who makes the menus), and everyday is something different! It’s like your birthday! Everyday!!

Okay, so let me explain how kyushoku works.  At 12:35, the bell ending 4th period rings and designated students go pick up the lunch carts (there’s a special room where the town’s kyushoku center delivers the meals) and wheel them back to their homerooms. Then, those students do the dishing for their classmates. In the staffroom (at one of my schools), our lunch is plated by whatever teachers and aides happen to be around. The trays are lined up and when you are ready to eat, you just go get your tray and bring it back to your desk. Then, you catch up on the daily gossip with the teacher sitting next to you while you chow down on some tasty grub such as this:

Here we have today’s school lunch (clockwise from bottom right corner): 1. Some soup with spinach, egg, tofu, and unidentified pink objects, 2. Chirashizushi which is basically some stuff piled on top of vinegared sushi rice, 3. Daikon with pork, 4. A cute package of arare (crackers) and 5. Milk! (Happy cows don’t come from California, they come from Japan. Really, the milk here is delicious.)

Lunch fare around here isn’t always so Japanese, but today was “Girls’ Day” and those are some of the foods that are traditionally eaten on the third day of the third month which, by the way, is not a holiday although you and I and Margaret Cho know that it damn well should be.

I was lucky enough to receive some special food for Hinamatsuri today!  So I thought I would virtually share it with you all…

This is ‘chirashizushi‘ (ちらしずし), or ’scattered sushi’.  As you can see, it doesn’t look like regular sushi, but it tasted delicious!  おいしかった！

Spot the Hello Kittys?  Fantastic!

I was also given these:

The three balls on a stick (pink, white, green) are called ‘dango‘.  They are small sticky balls of rice flour, similar to mochi.

The white-pink ball at the bottom is mochi with pink rice decorating the top and red beans (azuki) inside.  I think this is called ‘sakura mochi‘, maybe…

And finally the little people – they’re rice crackers in packets designed like dolls – for the Doll Festival!  かわいい！

Você não ta nem ai pra hoje não é?

Mas eu sim, pois é o meu dia!
o mais espeial dia do ano, o 62º ou 63º(nos anos bissesto) dia, faltando assim apenas mais 303 dias pro final!
Mas a razão mesmo é o meu Aniversário né não!

Por isso, resolvi postar coisas que aconteceram, comemorações e mais sobre esse dia!

Feriados e eventos cíclicos: (comemoro sempre mas nem sabia)

Brasil: Dia do Meteorologista.
Mitologia nórdica: dia de Aegir, deus teutônico dos mares.
Hinamatsuri ou “Dia das Meninas” é uma festa típica japonesa.
Austrália – Dia do Trabalho.
Bulgária – Dia da Independência.
Malawi – Dia dos Mártires.

Acontecimento:

1947 – Luís Gonzaga e Humberto Teixeira gravam pela primeira vez a canção Asa Branca, que se tornou hino extra-oficial do povo nordestino; (meu pai curte!)
1955 – Elvis Presley aparece na televisão pela primeira vez; (faz um tempim ne?)
1968 – Término da batalha de Huế, uma das mais sangrentas e longas batalhas da Guerra do Vietnã; (o importante é que acabou!)
1969 – Projeto Apollo: A NASA lança a Apollo 9 para testar o módulo lunar;
1997 – É inaugurada a mais alta estrutura do Hemisfério Sul (328 metros), Sky Tower no centro de Auckland, Nova Zelândia, após dois anos e meio de construção.
2005 – Steve Fossett torna-se a primeira pessoa a realizar uma circum-navegação aérea solo ao redor do mundo sem paradas ou reabastecimento – uma viagem de 40.234 km completada em 67 horas e 2 minutos.
2007 – Eclipse lunar total pôde ser avistado em todos os continentes. (muito massa!)

Nascimentos:

» Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), escocês-americano inventor do telefone (ainda bem que ele existiu [alô mamãe!])
» Jean Harlow (1911-1937), atriz americana (já ouviu falar?)
» Arthur Antunes Coimbra (1953-), Zico, jogador de futebol (oia!)
» Pedro Cavalcanti (1993) Eu, Claro o mais importante, Administrador do Piro! (Muito massa essa cara é o cara ne não! gosto muito dele pow!)

Galeria de fotos 3 de maço:

Dia do Meteorologista

Hinamatsuri

Aegir

Elvis Presley

Eclipse Lunar completo!

Graham Bell

Jean Harlow

Visita ae o momento leitor *-* http://pirosfera.wordpress.com/about/

La maiko Ayano (彩乃), fotografata da Onihide.

Il tre marzo, in Giappone, si tiene il Festival delle Bambole: Hinamatsuri (雛祭り).

La festa risale all’epoca Heian (794-1192), quando si celebrava il terzo giorno del terzo mese nel calendario lunare (corrispondente all’attuale aprile). In quel tempo era usanza festeggiare la primavera fabbricando bambole di carta (hina) sulle quali trasferire, con una cerimonia magica, malattie e sventure che avrebbero potuto affliggere la famiglia. Era la hina-nagashi (bambola galleggiante). Esse venivano poi gettate in un fiume eseguendo riti esorcistici. Ma nel dodicesimo secolo la nobiltà trasformò la festa in un’esibizione di bambole riccamente abbigliate con i costumi della corte imperiale, quale augurio di vita prospera e di un felice matrimonio. Dopo il diciassettesimo secolo l’usanza si diffuse in tutte le classi sociali e con l’adozione del calendario gregoriano la festa, oggi, ricorre il tre marzo.

In questo giorno è tradizione pregare per la crescita e la felicità delle bambine. E’ chiamato anche festival dei fiori di pesco, Momo no sekku, in quanto cadeva appunto nella stagione della loro fioritura sul vecchio calendario lunare. Il cinque maggio invece è il Odomo no hi, il giorno dei bambini. Mentre il giorno dei bambini è una festa nazionale, lo Hinamatsuri non lo è.

Anche le maiko, a volte, partecipano alla cerimonia del Nagashi-bina: si recano presso il tempio e lasciano scivolare nell’acqua del fiume piccole barche con sopra delle graziose bambole. Quella bambola diviene, simbolicamente, la vittima di tutta la sfortuna che potrebbe colpirle in futuro e allontana da loro gli influssi negativi degli spiriti maligni. E’ un rito molto suggestivo da ammirare e da vivere!

Il Nagashi-bina fotografato da MASA Images No.01

Ad esempio, a Kyoto, lo Shimogano-jinja (facente parte del tempio Kamo con il Kamigamo-jinja) celebra il Nagashi-bina (chiamato anche hina-okuri) lasciando navigare dolcemente queste bambole nei fiumi Kamo e Takano e pregando per le bambine.

Il Nagashi-bina di Fukuteru e Fukunami, fotografato da MASA Images No.01

Ho scoperto, con un po’ di delusione, che le piccole barche vengono poi recuperate e riportate indietro, non appena gli ignari spettatori si allontanano.

Il Nagashi-bina, fotografato da MASA Images No.01

Ma capisco che sia necessario per evitare che finiscano nelle reti dei pescatori, provocando gravi danni. Le bambole vengono quindi bruciate nel tempio, per completare e rendere efficace il rito.

Tutte le famiglie che hanno delle figlie, espongono in casa il hina-ningyō (雛人形) e dedicano alle bimbe i fiori del pesco. Il hina-ningyō è costruito, solitamente, su sette gradini (hinadan) e un basamento, tutti ricoperti da una morbida moquette rossa (mousen).

Oggi si trovano vari tipi di decorazioni, anche di dimensioni ridotte per gli appartamenti meno spaziosi, ma la versione tradizionale ha sette gradini e quindici bambole in legno, delicatamente laccato sul volto e sulle mani, vestite con gli antichi costumi giapponesi in seta e broccato.

Il gradino più alto si chiama Odairi sama. Dairi era la corte imperiale di Kyoto. Odairi sama é una coppia di bambole, maschio e femmina: l’Imperatore (Dairi) e l’Imperatrice (Hina). Nell’est del Giappone, Obina (Imperatore) viene messo a sinistra (guardandolo di fronte dalla parte destra). Invece nell’ovest del Giappone si usa al contrario. Attualmente lo stile dell’ovest é il più usato. Davanti all’Imperatore e all’Imperatrice sono posti due piccoli vassoi laccati a forma di tavolino e, ai loro lati, si trovano due lampade chiamate bonbori. Nel secondo gradino ci sono le tre dame di corte (sannin-kanjyo): non erano soltanto delle ancelle ma le donne in carriera dell’epoca capaci di comporre poesie, esibirsi con vari strumenti musicali e coordinare gli eventi mondani. Cinque musici (gonin-bayashi), disposti sul terzo gradino, suonano antichi strumenti: i figli minorenni degli aristocratici. Se i loro talenti venissero riconosciuti, potrebbero ricevere la carica nella corte imperiale. Al quarto gradino, ci sono il Ministro di sinistra (Udaijin) e il Ministro di destra (Sadaijin). Il Ministro di destra (sulla sinistra guardando dal lato dell’Imperatore) é più anziano e viene rappresentato con la barba, in quanto la sinistra veniva considerata superiore nella cultura della corte imperiale. Tutti e due con una spada e un arco e vengono loro offerti degli Hishimochi. Al quinto gradino troviamo gli Jityo (servitori): sono i governanti del palazzo. Ognuno porta una spazzola, una paletta e un rastrello. Sono chiamati anche i Sannin Jyogo, appaiono vestiti molto semplicemente e hanno un’espressione di pianto, riso e rabbia. Sesto e settimo gradino: gli utensili. Ci sono inoltre piccole parti di mobilia, minuscoli piatti da pasto ed altri oggetti graziosi.

L’altare è decorato con rami di pesco fioriti, simboleggianti la dolcezza e la grazia femminili. Sulla sinistra, viene inoltre messa una pianta ornamentale chiamata Ukon-no-Tachibana (un piccolo albero di mandaranci). Ukon significa appunto la parte destra perché guardando dalla prospettiva dell’Imperatore si trova sulla destra. Sulla nostra destra invece troviamo una pianta ornamentale chiamata Sakon-no-Sakura (albero di ciliegio che può anche essere sostituito con un pesco). Sakon significa sinistra, secondo lo stesso criterio di prima.

Vengono infine posizionati sull’altare dei minuscoli oggetti di uso giornaliero, tipici dell’aristocrazia nel periodo Heian, quali uno specchio, un cesto del cucito, vari strumenti per la cerimonia del tè e anche un carretto (gissha).

Le bambole, ancora oggi, sono ovviamente tutte vestite con gli abiti di corte del periodo Heian. Il costume dell’Imperatrice è il juuni-hitoe (abito a dodici strati). Il juuni-hitoe viene tuttora usato durante le cerimonie di matrimonio della famiglia imperiale. Anche la principessa Masako ha indossato il juuni-hitoe per le nozze con il principe ereditario (nel 1993). In queste occasioni i capelli vengono pettinati all’indietro, nello stile suberakashi, e un ventaglio in cipresso giapponese deve essere tenuto tra le mani.

Le mamme si affrettano sempre a mettere via il hina-ningyō, il giorno dopo il festival. Secondo una superstizione se non lo mettete via presto, dopo il tre marzo, vostra figlia si sposerà molto tardi. L’origine di Hinamatsuri è da cercare in un’antica pratica cinese per mezzo della quale la malattia del corpo e la sfortuna vengono trasferite a una bambola e allora si possono rimuovere gettando la bambola in un fiume che la porterà al mare.

Il hina-ningyō viene tramandato, nella famiglia, di generazione in generazione.

A scuola inoltre le ragazze sono ulteriormente festeggiate e lo stesso fanno i genitori, invitando a casa gli amici. Si preparano, ogni anno, speciali Hishimochi per gli ospiti: tre strati di mochi, uno verde, uno bianco e uno rosa a partire dal basso. Il verde simboleggia la terra dove cresce l’erba. Il bianco è la neve e il rosa richiama il colore dei fiori del pesco. I tre strati rappresentano la natura all’inizio della primavera quando comincia a crescere l’erba verde, sotto la neve bianca, e i germogli di pesco appaiono sulla terra. Secondo un’altra credenza però i tre colori simboleggiano ben altro: il rosa (o il rosso) rappresenterebbe l’allontanamento degli spiriti maligni, il bianco la purezza e il verde la buona salute. Viene anche offerto, a tutti, il sake bianco. E’ lo shirozake, ottenuto mischiando malto al sake. Ha un colore lattiginoso e un sapore dolce e viene preferito, in questa celebrazione, poiché è molto gradito alle fanciulle! E’ apprezzato anche l’arare, un tipo di cracker insaporito con salsa di soia…

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

Accendiamo le lanterne
Sistemiamo i fiori di pesco
I cinque musicisti di corte stanno suonando flauti e tamburi
Oggi è il gioioso Festival delle Bambole!

Le Centre Culturel Franco Japonais propose une exposition

jusqu’au 11 mars du lundi au samedi de 12h00 au 18h00

Kutchuk vous donne des explications sur cette célébration, vous propose du bricolage.

Avec Crayola vous pourrez réaliser une poupée avec son kimono.

It’s a good job I’m a girl, and I like pink, because right now that seems to be the predominant colour in Japan.  Tomorrow (March 3rd) is Hinamatsuri (Doll’s Festival/Girl’s Day) in Japan.  I wrote about this festival last year, so I won’t repeat myself too much, except to say that the supermarkets are filled with amazing pink and pastel coloured sweets right now. And it’s all too tempting.

I’m not sure exactly which ones are for Hinamatsuri and which are just here for the spring season, but here’s a couple I have to confess to trying… (I didn’t give in to the ones which look like Rainbow Drops yet…)

I think these ones are linked to the wonderful cherry blossom season which will soon be upon us, as the cute characters on the bag seem to be at a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party.

I’m guessing this next one is also supposed to be a cherry blossom flower, or something…

But I think this one is connected to Hinamatsuri, as the sticker on the bag has the date and also the picture looks like the dolls I have seen on other Hinamatsuri stuff.

So, spring in Japan seems to be the pink season.  As I’ve said before, Japan’s seasons are very distinct, and there is no mistaking that spring is on the way.  Shopping malls have cherry blossom decorations hanging from them, cakes are shaped like flowers, and really, everything seems to be pink.  And I like it.  It’s happy, and bright, and with the sun pretty much constantly shining I feel happy to be here.

Soon, the cherry blossom will start blooming, and then everything really will be pink!  I think I will always have a soft spot for Japan in spring, as it was spring time when I first came here back in 2006.  I wonder if I would have fallen in love so deeply if it had been June (rainy season) or August (humidity, cicadas, cockroaches…).  Ah, well.

I think the cherry blossom will hit Nagoya around the end of the month (22nd March last year), but soon you will be able to check this link for further information.  The cherry blossom forecast in Japan is a big deal, and many people avidly watch the spread of sakura as it travels up the country.  This year I will probably do most of my viewing in Kyoto and Nagoya.  So, watch this space for pink, pink and a little more pink!

There was a PTA meeting for the 3rd year students and the parents made some food for the teachers! “Koroke” which is smashed potatoes that’s fried on the outside. and it’s in the shape of a patty. It’s like a different version of our hash browns. Ms. Yamagajo (3rd year English teacher) said it’s usually made with minced meat and onions inside.. they come in many different flavors.

Also, they made soup “tonjiru” which is the miso soup base, with an assortment of white radish, carrot, fried tofu, beef, some sesame jelly cubes, and some other ingredients I couldn’t identify. It was yum and warmed me up right away; I want to try making! And Ms. Yamagajo shared some of her sweet dessert – it’s green tea jelly (made of rice flour) topped with sweet red beans – this is called “dango”.

This day was also special in that another teacher Ms. Omuro surprised me today with a gift too. Its for Hinamatsuri (doll festival) on March 3rd. It’s for young girls and a day to pray for their happiness and health. It was just a small red box and the lid was decorated with two origami figures, of king and queen. Inside are just a few hard candies painted to look like fruit. But it was the most beautiful gift ever.

We decorated the ohina -sama yesterday. This is the gift from my grand parents when I was a girl, so it was old and some small parts were lost. Tatsu and Momo were very exited while they set them on the right places. I wonder if it’s similar feeling with the westerners that are decorating a Christmas tree with ornaments. It’s been desplayed until the Girl’s day, March 3.
What do we, the Japanese parents, wish for their daughters? The happy marriage? Hina ningyou/ohina-sama represents the wedding ceremony of the Emperor and Empress, so the ancient Japanese hoped their daughters to be able to get the happy wedding and live long in wealthy life, because there wasn’t any other choice for girls in that ages. But our sense of value has been changed in these days. I hope Momo can live her life as she want. Of course, it’ll be better that she can meet her fate!

Emperor and Empress

the Minister of right and left

the music band

I love him the best!

Hinamatsuri

Il prossimo 3 marzo, come ogni anno, si festeggia in Giappone l’Hinamatsuri, la festa delle bambole, una giornata dedicata ai sogni e alla felicità, ideata per esaudire i desideri delle bambine.
La festa si chiama anche “Momo no sekku”, festival del Fior di Pesco, perché in questo mese la fioritura annuncia l’arrivo della primavera. Secondo la tradizione, le famiglie con figlie femmine devono costruire bambole speciali e decorarle con boccioli di fior di  pesco.
Le bambole devono essere collocate in una sorta di presepe su un tappeto rosso con l’imperatore, l’imperatrice e altri personaggi.
Davanti a questa specie di “altare” i genitori ed i parenti possono pregare per la buona crescita e la felicità delle bambine. Sempre secondo la tradizione, le bambole hanno la la capacità di fermare gli spiriti malvagi. La tradizione giapponese sbarca quest’anno anche in Italia, non il 3 marzo come nel paese del Sol Levante ma il 21 marzo, in occasione dell’arrivo della primavera, al Museo d’Arte Orientale di Genova.
Per questa particolare festività saranno organizzati minicorsi di origami, giochi e visite guidate per le bambine, dalle ore 15:30 alle ore 17:00.
Se volete far divertire le vostre bambine per un pomeriggio all’insegna della tradizione giapponese, allora non lasciatevi sfuggire questa festa per l’arrivo della primavera.

Pen9En NgGak PunY4 b0n3KA-b0n3KA caNtiK sEPeRti iNi?

INi b0n3KA D4Ri MOMA (MusEUm of ModERn ARt).

TEh Su5u KuRuMi ^_^

JaDi inGat dEh sAMa HiNa Mat5uRi (雛祭り, ひなまつり, Hinamatsur), fEstiVaL b0n3KA Y4Ng DiaD4KAn sEtiap tANgGaL 3 MaRet D4n sERiNg DiNaMaKAn “fEstiVaL aNak PeRemPUan“.

PaD4 tANgGaL itU sEtiap kELUaRGa Y4Ng MeMiLiKi aNak GaDis MeMajANg KOLekSi b0n3KA MeReKA D4n bERdOa 5uPaY4 aNak GaDis MeReKA BisA tUmBuwH dEWasA D4n sELaLu DibERi kE9EmBiRAan.

Hina Matsuri (festival boneka) atau sering juga disebut Girls Day, dirayakan pada tanggal 3 Maret. Pada festival ini keluarga dai si anak perempuan berdoa untuk kebahagiaan dan kesejahteraan si anak perempuan, dan agar si anak perempuan dapat tumbuh cantik dan sehat. perayaannya dilakukan di dalam rumah atau di pinggir laut, tujuan tempatnya disitu adalah untuk menangkal roh2 jahat.

Di festival ini, di rumah si anak perempuan dipajang boneka-boneka berpakaian kimono jadul di platform beralaskan kain merah yang merepresentasikan kaisar, istri kaisar, dan bawahan-bawahannya.

Urutan boneka:

Tingkat pertama (paling atas):
Boneka kaisar(O-Dairi-sama) dan istrinya(O-Hina-sama), biasanya diletakan di depan miniatur sekat berwarna emas

Tingkat kedua:
Tiga boneka court ladies (San-nin kanjo), masing-masing memegang botol sake

Tingkat ketiga:
Lima boneka pemusik laki2 (Go-nin bayashi), masing-masing memegang alat musik, kecuali penyanyi yg memegang kipas.

Tingkat keempat & sisanya:
Di tingkat keempat ada boneka tiga mentri (Udaijin, Daijin, dan Sadaijin), dan di tingkat sisanya dipajan miniatur2 furnitur, alat2, dll

Hina matsuri pertama yang dirayakan oleh seorang anak perempuan disebut hatsu-zekku, pada hatsu-zekku si anak perempuan dihadiahkan set boneka yg dijelaskan diatas oleh kakek-nenek mereka.

Boneka dipajang dari pertengahan Februari dan dibereskan segera setelah Hina Matsuri selesai. ada kepercayaan bahwa keluarga yang telat membereskan set boneka, maka si anak perempuan bakal sulit menikah (waduh)

Pada awalnya Hina Matsuri bentuknya adalah Hina nagashi(penghanyutan boneka) yang di beberapa kuil dilakukan juga, dimana boneka yg terbuat dari kertas atau daun bambu dihanyutkan ke sungai yg dipercaya mambawa roh2 jahat bersama boneka tsb.

Selain perayaan di rumah, hina matsuri juga diadakan di kuil2, mis Kada Shrine & Hokyo Temple, dimana kuil2 tsb memajang banyak sekali boneka.

Makanan yg biasa dimakan pada Hina Matsuri adalah amazake, yaitu minuman manis yang terbuat dari ampas sake.

I was in Japan last year around the time of Hinamatsuri – Japanese Girl’s Day or the Doll Festival. It was really charming. Traditionally, all houses (and hotels in my case!) have dolls on display that represent the Emperor and Empress dressed in the traditional dress of the Heian period, often other dolls too representative of other people in the court. It’s believed that these dolls can contain bad spirits and that these bad spirits are removed from the house when the dolls are floated down the river.

I’ve been eating alot of Japanese food of late, and had many trips to the Japan Centre in Picadilly. I spotted the hinamatsuri dolls on my last trip and this prompted a fit of nostalgia and a longing for a break and the thought – I wonder what kind of food is associated with hinamatsuri? I had a browse and I found the most wonderful things. Japanese food is fabulous on so many levels: fresh, bursting with flavour and the presentation is always beautiful. Here’s two items I found, although the first link is actually a link to many other blogs.

The Bento Challenge have a fantastic selection of hinamatsuri themed bento boxes, including one brilliant and very Japanese Hello Kitty one. I also quite like the one with the girl made of ham!

At Just Hungry, Maki has made gorgeous Shell-shaped sushi (Hamaguri-zushi).

As I’ve been a little crap on the food front, I’ll wheel out some of my photos from Japan last year to give you some colour. Girlie photos for a belated girl’s day. Any excuse, I know Enjoy!

Ok, Ladies and girls ! Ready for today? Today is special for only females to wish happiness and growing up well for girls. The day of today, we are celebrate Hinamatus or Momo no sekku.

March 3rd is celebrated as the Girl’s Day, or the Festival of Dolls. People display graceful dolls in ancient court costumes on a tier of 5 or 7 shelves covered with scarlet cloth. These dolls represent the Emperor and Empress, the court ladies, the ministers and the court musicians. The girls are expected to be as elegant as these courtly ladies.
Young girls wear their beautiful Kimono and get together before the display and have a good time, eating sweet rice crackers (Hina arare) and drinking white sake (Shirozake). It isalso known as the Peach Festival.

Visit more about Hinamatsuri http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri (In Japanese*)…