|
|
|
The first time I saw a Hina doll, I didn't know what she was. I thought she was singing. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Emperor and empress pair, about 5" high. This style was popular from the 1850s up through the 1930s. 
Although this pair was probably made at the same time or later than the pair above (1920s), it recalls a much older style popular in the early years of the 19th century. It may have been made to replace an old pair lost in a fire. |
Cardboard and paper hinadan, with five origami hina and a pair of lamps. Total height about 6".
A pottery Dairi-bina pair belonging to my daughter Elaine. Hina doll sets can be made of just about any material. |
 |
The three ladies in waiting serve sake on the second level of the hinadan. The red and white costumes suggest a religious order. The lady in the middle should be holding a cup. |
 |
A pair of fine Guardians or Ministers, with swords, arrows, and bows (well,one bow). The ministers always are a pair, an old man with a pink complexion and a young man with an aristocratic white face; sometimes they are dressed alike in rich brocades, sometimes, as here, in red and black. Note the elegant horsehair decorations that frame their faces. |
 . |
|
 
This pair probably dates from around 1910-20, and is made in a style called oshi-e, "padded painting," in which layers of lightly padded cloth are laid over one another to form a picture. You can see that these dolls also have tassels, fan, sceptre, etc. This is the craft used to make hagoita, but it was also popular in the 19th century to create a kind of puppet with a stick attached to the back so that they could be arranged on a tatami-mat floor for play or display. This particular pair have paper backs with a place to attach the stick for display. They are unusual in that the hina emperor and his consort are transformed into Prince Genji and his beloved lady Murasaki; instead of looking straight ahead, they look tenderly at each other, and the change in shapes and emotions recalls the great Heian novel (though Genji never quite got to be an emperor and Murasaki suffered from not being his offical wife). |
|
 |
This woodblock (a detail of the depiction shown on my Girls' Day page) shows a casual display of three pairs of hina dolls. There is a tachibina pair leaning against the screen, what appear to be a small emperor and empress to one side, a large emperor with his table in front of him, and at the left an empress wearing the trousers, many kimono layers, and long flowing hair of a Heian court lady. |