Doll News Summer 2017 - 119

once a year hina displays. Thousands of hina of all types - the portrait of Emperor Meiji in military attire
was no doubt my favorite. The popularity of this hina display with the Japanese citizenry - men, women,
and children - was apparent as the line to enter the exhibit stretched down the large reception area and
out the door, conﬁrming once again how very important Hinamatsuri is in Japan.
Seeing these museum displays enabled us to see the evolution of the dolls themselves. Most of the
displays included beautiful examples of Tachi-bina, the earliest known standardized style and reminiscent
of the ancient origata (folded dolls) that were used in puriﬁcation ceremonies for centuries.
There were examples of Kan'ei-bina, the ﬁrst seated hina. The name was derived from the Kan'ei era
(1624-1644) when this type ﬁrst appeared. Next in the evolutionary sequence are the Kyoho-bina named for
the Kyoho era (1716-1736) and featuring more sophisticated textiles. By the mid-18th century we learned
of the Jiozaemon-bina. According to Alan this style is perhaps the most famous and, from a collector's
standpoint, most coveted of the hina style. Named after the mid l8th-century Kyoto manufacturer Okada
Jirozaemonm, they are distinctive for their overly round heads and diminutive facial treatment.
Another type featured in most museum exhibits was the Yusoku-bina, a most elegant and sophisticated
form. Created during the mid-18th century, the Yusoku-bina was, like the Jirozaemon, more popular among
the ruling elite. The name Yusoku-bina is derived from the Yusoku, a Heian-period
manual which outlined in explicit detail the behavior expected of aristocrats,
including proper garments to be worn depending on the occasion and time of
year. The textiles of the yusoku-bina clearly illustrate the Yusoku inﬂuence.
Next in hina sequence is the Kokin-bina, introduced in 1770 by Osaka ningyo
artist Higuchi Shugetsu. This soon became the most popular and most enduring
hina style. Named after a Heian-period poetry anthology, the Kokinshu, the Kokinbina have distinctive oval elongated faces and glass eyes and wear textiles that are
a compromise between the overblown examples of the Kyoho-bina and the austere
formality of the Yusoku-bina.
In fact, there was no need to even go to a museum to see Hina. Merely walking
down the street we encountered Hina displays in sweet shops and dry cleaning
establishments, in restaurants and hotels, pictures on the sides of buses, labels
on food, mosaics embedded in the sidewalk, and even on a shelf above the deli
section of a truck stop in route to Kyoto. In Iwatsuki alone there were 50 doll
stores selling hina.
The most amazing Hinamatsuri experience, however, was at the Awashima
shrine in Kada. When reading the history of Hinamatsuri, mention is always made
to the ﬂoating of the dolls whether down a river or out to sea. We were able to
actually witness this ﬂoating ritual
ﬁrst hand. To offer a brief summary
of this festival, I quote from Alan
Scott Pate's book, Ningyo - The Art of
the Japanese Doll.
At Awashima-jinja, a shrine
on the eastern coast of Wakayama
prefecture, hina and other doll
forms collected throughout the year
are burned in twice-daily pyres
to release accumulated evil forces
and inﬂuences. On the third day
of the third month, three boats are
ritually loaded with hina dolls, and

A dry
cleaner in
Wakayama
proudly
displays
their hina.

Awashima Shrine in Kada where the
Hinamatsuri ceremonies took place on
March 3rd.
DOLL NEWS * UFDC.ORG

119

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Summer 2017