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ひな祭り / Dolls Day Festival
2014.02.28 [CULTURE]
ひな人形の歴史 / History of The Dolls
3月3日は、女の子の健やかな成長を願う日本の行事、ひな祭り。
季節の節目に身の汚れを祓うために行なわれていた大切な「節句」の一つであり、平安貴族の
女子が小さな紙の人形で遊ぶ「ひいな遊び」、災いや厄を人形に託して川に流す「流し雛」など
と結びつき、発展した行事だと考えられています。
室町時代には、紙の「ひな人形」から豪華なお雛様を飾って宮中で祝うようになり、江戸幕府
によって「五節句」として定められると、武家や裕福な家庭へと浸透していきました。
一般家庭では、明治から昭和にかけて「段飾り」が飾られるようになりましたが、近年は
マンション住まいの家庭も多く、男びなと女びなだけの「ひな人形」も多く見られるようになりました。

One of Japan’s most important and much admired festivals is the Hinamatsuri, or Dolls Day Festival,
an event held every March 3rd to wish for the healthy development of girls. The stands covered in red
felt and adorned with any number of colourful dolls go on display in the family home from the middle
of February until early March.
Since the Heian Period, the festival has marked the change of seasons and it was believed that misfortune
or illness would be passed into the dolls, protecting the children. In the old days the custom was to set
straw dolls afloat on the river to wash such misfortune away. In the Muromachi Period, the dolls changed
from being paper crafted figures into plush dolls representing the Imperial court.
By the Edo period the government sanctioned event became popular among the samurai class and the
wealthy. The tradition was passed onto the common folk around the Meiji and early Showa periods when
the tiered platform style seen now was adopted.
The gorgeous, multi level display has become rare due to Japan’s housing situation, as more people live in condominiums, apartments or flats with little room to store or display the dolls.
ひな人形は、婚礼の儀式 / The Figures Represent a Wedding
平安貴族(皇族)の衣装に身を包んだ男雛と女雛。さらには、三人官女、五人囃子、右大臣、左大臣などが並ぶ
「ひな人形」ですが、これらは一体、何を意味しているのでしょう?
実はこれ、段飾りの一番上に並んでいる男雛と女雛は「親王と親王妃(天皇・皇后)」、三人官女は宮中でお仕え
する「女官」、五人囃子は能の「お囃子」であり、全体としては、宮中での「婚礼の儀式」をあらわしているのです。
「ひな人形をしまい忘れると、お嫁にいけない」という言い伝えも、こうしたところから来ているのかもしれません。

The doll set includes the Emperor and Empress dressed in aristocratic Heian Period costume seated at the
top of the display. Below them are three court ladies, then on the next level, five ministers and councilors, sometimes armed with bows and swords, On a lower rank again are musicians and servants, furniture,
tools and celebratory foods. The set is supposed to represent a wedding ceremony.
男びなと女びなの並べ方のワケ / Seating Positions
男雛と女雛の並び方にも理由があります。日本では古くから「左側が上位」だったため、左に男雛というのが
一般的でしたが、昭和天皇が公の席でも国際マナーにのっとって、右に昭和天皇、左に皇后陛下と並ばれたこと
から、ひな人形も、右に男雛、左に女雛が飾られるようになりました。今もなお、雛に人形の種類や時代、また
地域や家庭によっては、古式で飾られることもあるため、どちらが正解ということもありません。
女の子の健やかな成長を願う、ひな祭り。これからも変わらず受け継いでいきたい、日本の素晴らしい文化です。

In old Japan, it was traditional for the Empress to be seated to the right of the Emperor, and this was
the way the dolls representing the Royal Couple were seated, however the Showa Emperor, bowing
to western etiquette, was seen in public with the Empress to his left, and so the traditional set up
changed to reflect the times. Various regions within Japan still adhere to the old style, while others
reflect the Showa period changes. Either way is acceptable.
Legend has it, that if the dolls are not put away by March 4, the day after the festival, then the daughters
will not marry easily. However, these dolls were originally believed to have taken misfortune away,
and so we’re sure that they would protect the girls of the house from such future troubles too.
【Japan World Link】
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