March 8 is celebrated all over the world International women’s rights daymore known as women’s day. However, this does not happen in Japan, not because the celebration of femininity and equal rights are not considered important, so much so that in 1986 the Japanese government, led by Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone Nakasone, it approved a law on women’s equality recognizing their rights, but because society considers women above all mothers of families. The angel of the hearth she must mainly take care of her husband, children and the house, leaving her job after marriage, despite being a graduate and in her career.
Hiratsuka Haru, aka Hiratsuka Raichō (1886 – 1971), one of the most influential figures of the Japanese feminist movement, in the opening essay to the magazine Seitō (the first Japanese feminist literary magazine) gives women a role of great importance writing that in origin was the sun. In the myth she narrated, the empire of Japan was born from a woman, the goddess Amaterasu, who is light, no one can ignore her. The world is therefore no longer dominated by a god but by a goddess, who dominates all creatures with delicacy and feminine wisdom, combined with qualities of strength and determination, under the banner of change and independence. This women – led magazine for women was an experiment that lasted a few years from 1911 to 1916 . While continuing to have a subordinate role in society compared to men, but maintaining a leading role in the management of the house, a party is dedicated to her, indeed, to the girls which is celebrated in early March.
In the anime Mirai (future future Mirai no Mirai) Of Mamoru Hosoda of 2018, reference is made to an all-female party: the Hinamatsuri. The protagonist of the story is When a child who finds himself sharing spaces and affections with the newcomer, the newborn little sister Mirai. Jealous of this new human being plunged into his life, he finds refuge in the garden of the house where extraordinary events happen every day: he gets to know his mother as a child, meets his teenage sister, his boy grandfather and his father. In this journey through time, Kun finds his place in the world and accepts that Mirai is part of his life. Just in the encounter with adolescent Mirai we see the boy with his sister as they arrange the dolls at the end of the Hinamatsuri party.
The Hinamatsuri festival, which is celebrated on March 3, represents for the Japanese a moment of joy, prayer and happiness to be spent with the family. On this occasion we celebrate girls, pray for the health of daughters and wish them a bright future.
Every year between February and March an altar is set up with dolls that must be removed on the evening of March 3 because, according to tradition, leaving them after March 4 would lead to a very late marriage for one’s daughters. The staging must be arranged on 5 levels (up to 7 levels), with a precise placement of the dolls .
- Platform 1– Reserved for the Emperor and Empress dolls, flanked by a golden miniature screen
- Platform 2– Reserved for the san-nin kanjo, 3 ladies-in-waiting who serve drinks to the male and female dolls
- Platform 3– Reserved for go-nin bayashi, court musicians who each own a different instrument
- Platform 4– The level intended for dolls representing court ministers or bodyguards, as well as items representing gifts for the imperial couple
- Platform 5– A level reserved for dolls representing the palace guards, which are flanked by a miniature mandarin tree on the left and a sakura cherry tree on the right.
On this occasion, many traditional dishes are prepared, including: Hina-arare – Pastel colored sugary rice crackers, available only during the Hina season,
MatsuriChirashi-zushi – Lightly sweetened sushi served with clam chowder,
Hishi-mochi – Rhomboid-shaped rice cakes that symbolize fertility, available in 3 colors, white to symbolize snow, pinkish-red to symbolize peach blossoms, or green to represent the coming spring and as a drink it is servedamazakea non-alcoholic sake.
By Valeria Turino