KIMONO HOUSE - NEW YORK

Dolls      In Japan, the first three months of the year go by in a flash because there so many events one after another. So there is a common saying describing the first three months of the year: "Ichigetsu inuru, nigetsu nigeru, sangetsu saru" ( 一月往ぬる二月逃げる三月去る ). It means "January passes by, February runs away, and March leaves". It feels like February did just that, and suddenly March is imminent!      One of the many events is on March 3, Hina Matsuri ひな祭り (Girl's Day/Doll Festival). This day is to celebrate the girls and women in the home by displaying a set of dolls in  Heian dress  (Hina Dolls, hina ningyo 雛人形 ) and special tri-colored diamond-shaped mochi  offerings (hishi mochi 菱餅 ). Last month we wrote on Setsubun and how it is celebrated the day before the first day of spring on the old calendar. The display of the family's Hina Dolls starts on the first day of spring (risshun 立春 ) and  strictly  ends on March 3 - if ...

It seems that winter on the eastern seaboard couldn’t take its leave without having its last hurrah before spring came. Hopefully, the recent snow storm will be the last of this season and we can start looking forward to warmer days. According to the old Japanese calendar, sometime between February 2 to 4 is an important seasonal division, Setsubun (節分) . This year, it happens to fall on the same day as Groundhog Day. While the two holidays both concern spring, one cannot be equated with the other. Meaning ‘seasonal せつ division ぶん’, setsubun technically happens four times a year but it also signified the new year in the lunar calendar. So it has popularly come to only refer to the day before the first day of spring. “鬼は外！福は内！(Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!) ” yells a Shinto shrine’s priest to revelers awaiting snack packs of roasted soybeans to be thrown to them. Elsewhere, a nearby temple waves a fire above visitors to bless visitors their coming year with lucky sparks. At home, families...