Spend your tea time loving the cute Doll’s Festival (Hinamatsuri) sweets that wish for the healthy growth of girls. The Doll’s Festival originated in ancient China as an event to ward off evil spirits, but by the Edo period (1603-1868), it had developed into a unique Japanese culture of doll decorating.
It is the time of year when the trees are in bloom. The sweets shops have an abundance of gorgeous sweets for the flower viewing season. Before we know it, the plum blossom season is over, and the cherry and peach blossoms start to be in full bloom.
The design of Hinamatsuri as seen at tea cakes
Many gorgeous sweets are made for the Doll’s Festival. Here are some of the motifs that are witty.
Clam ‘Hamaguri’ from Hinamatsuri
Hamaguri clam is often used as a motif to symbolize the Doll’s Festival. The hamaguri clam is a bivalve shellfish that is widely found throughout Japan and is characterized by its large, slippery shell. The white, plump clam has an elegant taste and is popular among Japanese people. Since both shells have the same shape and pattern, they have been used as a sign of a contract, a wedding gift, a medicine cabinet, and as a tool for shell-matching games. Hamaguri have been valued as good luck charms because of their popularity and the elegance with which they are used as a set of two items.
Tororo Manju, the base of this cake, is a popular confectionery eaten as a simple white manju. The simple shape of the manjyu is used to make a clam shape, making it an appropriate confectionery for the Doll’s Festival. Since no fat or oil is used, the sweetness of the white bean paste can be washed away refreshingly with sencha.
Peach ‘Momo’ from Hinamatsuri
When it comes to Hinamatsuri, peaches are indispensable. This wagashi confectionery is chosen because of its interesting shape of a peach, a symbol of longevity. According to Chinese legend, in the garden where an ancient Chinese goddess lived, peaches ripen once every 3,000 years, and it is said that if you eat them, you will live forever. This moral can be found in the Japanese folktale, “Momotaro”. “Momotaro” is a story about a brave boy born from a peach. Peaches are said to ward off evil spirits as a sacred fruit. This gorgeous confectionery is perfect for the Doll’s Festival, because it is also known as “Peach Festival”.
Hina-arare rice puffs from Hinamatsuri
Hina-arare is a sweet made from roasted rice, mixed with beans and sprinkled with sugar. Colorfully colored rice cakes are used instead, as they are easier to eat. This picture shows lovely arare, which is perfect for the Doll’s Festival in terms of its appearance and sweetness.
About Doll’s Festival Hinamatsuri
The Doll’s Festival originated in ancient China, where people purified themselves near water and drinking liquor to ward off evil spirits. This misogi purifying evolved into an event called the “Kyokusui-no-En”, in which people drank and read poetry in a gorgeous garden. In Japan, misogi purifying gradually came to be practiced by pouring dolls into water instead of purifying oneself. Then, in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the Festival became a festival to decorate dolls and offer Hishimochi and sake. It was later, in the Edo period, that the festival developed into the Doll’s Festival (Hinamatsuri) we know today. In the lunar calendar, this is the time when the peach blossom blooms, and the festival has become a time to pray for the growth and happiness of girls.
Hinamatsuri in the Sayama Tea Region
Dolls at Tokorozawa City
Saitama Prefecture is the largest producing region of Hina dolls and other seasonal dolls in Japan. Hina dolls, an essential part of the Doll’s Festival, are made in a division of labor. Not all the dolls and ornaments are made in one factory, but each part of the dolls, head or body, is assigned to a specific supplier. The industry of Hina dolls in Tokorozawa City was developed by three founders in the late Edo period. Although the number of manufacturers dwindled, the tradition has continued since the Edo period.
Dolls at Nagasawa Shuzo Sake Brewery in Hidaka City
Near the birthplace of Kenzo Takabayashi, who invented the tea-making machine, there is a sake brewery called Nagasawa Sake Brewery. The muddled sake from this brewery is delicious.
