Traditionally celebrated on March 3, Hinamatsuri is the Japanese holiday when girls are celebrated and families honor and pray for their health and well-being. Hina means “doll” and matsuri means “festival,” so Hinamatsuri literally translates to ‘festival of dolls’ and is also commonly referred to as Girls’ Day.
You might also hear this special celebration referred to as Momo no Sekku, or the Festival of Peaches, to signify the season when these trees are admired for their beautiful blossoms.
Similar to the way we identify fiesta, or a pageant, a matsuri brings seasonal foods, arts, music, and marks a commemoration. Presented by the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and Japanese American National Museum, Hinamatsuri will include your hina-doll photos and delicious food.
Now through Feb. 27: JACCC Momo-no-Sekku Lunch Sets
Lunch sets include chirashi-zushi, cha-soba, sakura mochi, and origami kits. These sets are available for purchase online and can be picked up in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) on Feb. 27. A collaboration with Sake Dojo (Don Tahara), Fugetsu-Do (Brian Kito) and Upper Crust (Gary Kawaguchi), with support from Bunkado and Mutual Trading.
On the same day, a video tutorial will be released on how to make origami hina-dolls.
Saturday, Feb. 27: Virtual Chirashi-zushi Workshop by JANM
A virtual, interactive chirashi-zushi cooking workshop with Azusa Oda from 3:30 to 5 p.m. PST, $25 admission fee. You can cook along from wherever you are.
Virtual Hina Doll Exhibition
Discover Nikkei/JANM, together with JACCC, is compiling photos to share the global Nikkei community’s Hinamatsuri traditions. They want to see photos of your family’s special dolls, foods, and other traditional (or non-traditional) decorations and celebrations. Photos can be from past years or to share how you are finding ways to celebrate this year despite the pandemic. To participate, just email your photo to submit@jaccc.org. A selection of the photos will be presented on the JACCC website and at Discover Nikkei through mid-March.
Kitty Sankey has donated her mother’s vintage kokeshi doll set, which is on display with the hina-doll set and can be viewed from the plaza at JACCC. It will also be posted online for viewing next week.
For links to order lunch sets, make reservations for the workshop or get guidelines on submitting photos, go to: https://www.jaccc.org/hinamatsuri
