Hina Matsuri Doll Display

Feb. 16th--Today, we finished schoolwork early and headed down to Meguro to go to the Hina Matsuri Doll Display at the Meguro Gajoen. 
This hotel is a piece of Tokyo history in and of itself.  It was built in 1931, when Tokyo was recovering from the devastating 1923 Kanto earthquake. Houses were cramped and barely equipped with electricity and running water, and the average person probably led a wretched life. In addition, home decorations available to the common person were limited.  The owner of this hotel, however, had a grand vision of creating a fairyland of sorts in his rooms.  He added on as he could afford, and created a beautiful building that not only served as a hotel but also housed banquets and weddings.
During World War II, the old Gajoen received notice to evacuate to the U.S.Marine, so that this part of Tokyo could escape damage.
In 1988, they had to tear down part of the old Gajoen because of Meguro River improvement work.  The Meguro River runs right next to it.   Many of the art works were removed and reattached to the new building. The only remaining part of the old building is the white part of the building, directly above where the kids are standing.  The rest of the building is new and reminiscent of the New York City Plaza Hotel.

Just a little taste of what the Hina Matsuri Doll display is going to contain.



 Of the original building, only the "Stairway of 100 Steps" and a few rooms remain of the existing old gajoen.  This part of the hotel is where the doll display was located.  Unfortunately, photographs were prohibited, so the pictures of the original hotel and the hina dolls are from the internet.   As we gradually climbed the stairs, occasionally stepping to the right to enter a room full of dolls, we were able to notice the old glass and the workmanship of the 1931 construction of the old gajoen.  It was a noticeable difference from how things are built today and fun to see. 

As you can see, the original owner succeeded in his desire to create a fairyland of sorts!  There are seven rooms in all, and words cannot describe them!  They are absolutely exquisite in every sense of the word.  The amount of artwork, wood craftsmanship, and attention to detail in each room takes the viewer's breath away. 

Each room was different, but each had artwork on the walls and ceilings, along with tatami mats on the floors.  Before climbing the steps to begin the tour, there was a place where we had to take off our shoes and put them in grocery bags to carry them with us throughout the display.  They had adult size (for a man) brown slippers for everyone to use.  These large slippers were a little frustrating for Nathan and Audra, especially with all the stairs that we had to climb.

Being able to view each of the gorgeous rooms was an incredible experience in and of itself.  Adding the Hina Matsuri dolls into the mix made going to this display a real treat.  Each room had several displays of the dolls for us to look at. 

These dolls are a part of the celebration of Hina Matsuri Day on March 3rd.  Also dubbed Girls’ Day, hina-matsuri annually celebrates girls by displaying a set of hina dolls and their props in the house, wishing girls healthy growth and happiness. Traditionally, parents buy a set of dolls for a newborn girl and some particular dolls are also passed on from generation to generation.

Some of the displays we saw showed the dolls in wooden houses.  Others had them on tiers.

The display dolls are not just generic – they actually represent the Emperor, Empress, attendants and musicians attired in traditional court dress of the Heian Period (794-1192).

Back in those days, dolls were believed to possess some bad spirits, so straw versions were commonly set afloat on a boat to sea, purging them of the evilness. Nowadays, sending dolls out to sea is seldom practiced around the country, but rather they’re simply displayed starting in February and taken down immediately following March 3. Rumor is, if the dolls are not taken down right away, the daughter is doomed to eternal singledom…

Most of the displays we saw were on a seven-tiered platform.  The top tier is reserved for the emperor and the empress. A miniature gilded folding screen is placed behind them, just like the real Imperial throne of the ancient court.  On the second tier are three ladies-in-waiting, and on the third are five male court musicians. Ministers sit on either side of trays of food on the fourth step, and the fifth row features guards flanked by an orange tree to the left and a blossoming cherry tree to the right.
It is common for Japanese girls to also have several items for their dolls such as drums, tea sets, and kimono boxes.  These will be displayed on the bottom tiers.
I have read that Girls' Day (3/5) and Boys' Day (5/5) are starting to be combined and celebrated together as "Children's Day".  I can't find any definite information on this, but if that's the case, it would be a real shame.  Hina Matsuri dolls are a wonderful long-held part of Japanese history, and one that we simply love!

 It was hard to leave the doll display, but we had to find a bathroom for Audra Mae.  We found the bathroom, and ended up wandering around the hotel for a bit.  The hotel is beautiful, with fans on the ceiling....

 ...and carved works of art on the walls.

 .

There were also some portable shrines on display.

 Near a bridal shop, there were several of these dresses.  A closer inspection lets you know that these dresses are made entirely from balloons.  Crazy!

 Audra fell in love with this dress.  It was hers!  She wouldn't leave it, and I had pick her up and carry her away kicking and screaming.

What an amazing hotel!  From the breathtaking part of the old hotel to the amazing hina doll display to the beautiful new part of the hotel, we were enamored with all that we saw. 

 On the way back to the metro, we passed a temple.  The kids wanted to stop, so we did for a bit.  Here is Chris helping Nathan ring the bell after putting his coin in the box. 

 These grounds were interesting to look at because there were many different statues.  The whole left wall was covered in rows and rows of statues. 

What a great day!  I had been looking forward to the hina doll display for several weeks, and I was not disappointed! 

Here's what the kids thought about the day:
Caitlin:  The dolls were really beautiful.  I like the way each set is unique, but they all have the same characters.  The hotel is quite beautiful.  I might have to go back there when I'm President of the U.S. 
Tayla:  The dolls were really, really pretty.  I like the Empress ones the best.  I really liked the paintings in the hotel.  The rooms we went in were exquisite.  I liked how they were all different.  I also liked the fans that were painted on the ceiling and the wooden carvings on the wall of women in kimonos.  I thought that the dresses made out of balloons were really weird.  I think the hina dolls were really pretty and I want to someday get a set.
Christopher:  It was cool.  The hotel was really, really big.  The dolls were really pretty and they were really cool.  The set-ups they had were beautiful and awesome.  All of the dolls were different, but some of the dolls looked almost the same.  The hotel was pretty and unique. 
Logan:  The dolls were really, really beautiful.  Some were old, new, large, and small.  The kimonos on the hina dolls had different designs on them.  Every single one was different.  They were all exquisite.  Some had buns, crowns, and headdresses on top of their head.  Every one would take me about two years to make.  You could tell which accessories belonged to which doll.  The accessories were all beautiful and unique.  The emperor and empress on the seventh stair were some of the prettiest dolls.  The carvings on the walls were unique.  The walls were so detailed in their colors.  The ceiling was pretty with the fans.
Nathan:  It was o.k.  The slippers, I had to take them off a lot when we got to the stairs.  My feet got really cold doing that.  The hina dolls were girlish to me.  The paintings were painty. 
Audra:  I don't like the dolls.  They scary.  But Kirstin love them.