Shinto is the official religion of Japan. It is an optimistic faith: Shinto followers believe that humans are fundamentally good, and evil spirits cause evil in the world. They honor the kami- spiritual essences that live in nature, within the mountains, trees, and rivers.
In the days leading up to Hina Matsuri, children display a collection of dolls, including the emperor and empress dolls, with many attendants. These hina dolls are often very elaborate, but children also make simple dolls, using origami paper for beautiful kimonos.
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| Hina dolls made by my students. |
People in many cultures make effigy dolls in the spring to symbolically absorbs all bad luck and negative energy (see Maslenitsa for another example).
Agenda today:
1. Journal:
My task today is to decide what issues and ills of mine I would like to send away this year in preparation for spring. If I’m ready to release some of these weights I carry, then today is a good day to set that intention. I know that this is an ongoing process! My problems will not go away like magic, but if I name them, and choose to release them, I am taking a good first step.
Today I make a list of all the issues and habits I wish I didn’t have- indifference, fear, self-judgments, petty annoyances, and obsessive attachments, then I circle 2 or 3 that I’m ready to release today.
2. Make Hina Dolls:
My art class students and I make dolls together each year. We make two each- one to keep and one to float down river.
Fold top down to make the collar.
2. Make some folds to fit the kimono around the white strip- fold the collar at an angle on each side, then fold the edges in to wrap around (this is sometimes tricky and takes some adjusting).
3. Make paper boats:
This year we made beautiful paper boats to carry our dolls away, following the instructions at this site. We used freezer paper.
4. The Hina-okuri ceremony:
As with any form of Shinto worship we begin with ritual washing, pouring water over our hands.
The second step is an offering to the kami. In this case, we are offering a paper doll. We each write the things we want to release on the paper inside our hina dolls.
Next we each take the doll in our hands, close our eyes, concentrate on those issues we are releasing, breathe on the doll, and wish that energy onto it.
Next we offer a silent prayer to the kami, of thanksgiving and petition for the future.
Finally, we send the dolls away: We take them to the creek and throw them into the current!
4. Make Hishi Mochi:
In Japan, children often share a tea party with friends on Hina Matsuri, with sweet sticky hishi mochi (HEE-she MO-chee), with pink, white, and green layers. White is for purification, green stands for health, and pink will chase away evil spirits.
Ingredients:
6- Cool the mochi (it's best to cool overnight, but we can never wait that long!) and remove from the pan. Cut mochi into small diamond-shaped pieces with a pizza cutter. Use cornstarch to help keep the cutter from sticking. Serve with Japanese tea.
5. Tea Party:
Make a ceremonial pot of tea to celebrate my new life. Set a nice table, with a flower; put on some Japanese music; choose a beautiful bowl to drink from; make and drink the tea with attention to every scent and taste.
6. Prepare garden beds for planting and plant the sabzeh:
Remember- the root purpose of Hina Matsuri is to prepare ourselves for spring planting. Today I also need to prepare the garden- loosen the soil, pull weeds, remove leaves, and dig in some fresh compost.
The sabzeh is a bowl of sprouted grains, prepared for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which begins every year on the Spring Equinox. The sabseh is a symbol of new life.
Since it takes two weeks to get good looking sprouts, we usually start them on Hina Matsuri.
Supplies: A shallow bowl (we tried paper bowls this year and I can't say it was a success), damp soil, grain seeds (lentils and wheat are traditional; we planted a mixture of wheat, field peas, and ryegrain).
Fill the bowl with damp soil, cover the surface well with seeds, and spray daily with water.
7. Marzanna doll:
The Slavs of Poland have a custom of burning an effigy of Marzanna at the spring equinox. Marzanna is the Slavic goddess of death, winter and nightmares; the symbolism is of death and rebirth- burning away the winter so that spring can return.
I've been working week by week on my Marzanna doll and this is the fourth week. Today I added cloth. I will add a new material each week until the equinox: Next week, yarn and beads, and then feathers.
My art class students and I make dolls together each year. We make two each- one to keep and one to float down river.
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Collar folded down.
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Supplies: White paper strips (6-inches by 3/4-inch), plain and patterned origami paper, scissors, black paper for hair (tissue or crepe paper), glue stick
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Folding the kimono.
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1. For the basic kimono, cut 2 sheets of 6” origami paper in half, and put them backside to backside.
2. Make some folds to fit the kimono around the white strip- fold the collar at an angle on each side, then fold the edges in to wrap around (this is sometimes tricky and takes some adjusting).
3. Cut and glue hair at the top of the white strip. (It's helpful to look at pictures of Japanese dolls and hairstyles- be imaginative and creative!)
4. Cut a strip for an obi (belt) and glue in place and add other fun details, such as a comb for the hair cut from paper, or a fan.
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| Decorating the boat. |
This year we made beautiful paper boats to carry our dolls away, following the instructions at this site. We used freezer paper.
4. The Hina-okuri ceremony:As with any form of Shinto worship we begin with ritual washing, pouring water over our hands.
The second step is an offering to the kami. In this case, we are offering a paper doll. We each write the things we want to release on the paper inside our hina dolls.
Next we each take the doll in our hands, close our eyes, concentrate on those issues we are releasing, breathe on the doll, and wish that energy onto it.
Next we offer a silent prayer to the kami, of thanksgiving and petition for the future.
Finally, we send the dolls away: We take them to the creek and throw them into the current!
4. Make Hishi Mochi:
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 c. sweet rice flour (available in Asian food stores)
- 1 c. sugar
- green and pink food coloring
- corn starch
Yield: 15 pieces-
1- Combine sweet rice flour, sugar, and 1-1/2 c. very hot water in a bowl. Stir well with a wire whip to melt the sugar and get out all the lumps. The batter should be thin and pourable.
2- Separate the mochi batter into three bowls: Leave 1/2 of it white; color 1/4 green and 1/4 pink with food color.
3- Oil and dust a square cake pan with corn starch. Pour the green mochi batter into the pan and tilt to coat the bottom. Cover the pan well with foil, and bake at 350ยบ for 10 minutes.
4- Remove the pan from the oven, peel back the foil, and pour the white layer on top of the green. Cover again and bake for 20 minutes more.
3- Oil and dust a square cake pan with corn starch. Pour the green mochi batter into the pan and tilt to coat the bottom. Cover the pan well with foil, and bake at 350ยบ for 10 minutes.
4- Remove the pan from the oven, peel back the foil, and pour the white layer on top of the green. Cover again and bake for 20 minutes more.
5- Pour in the pink layer, cover again, and bake for another 20 minutes.
6- Cool the mochi (it's best to cool overnight, but we can never wait that long!) and remove from the pan. Cut mochi into small diamond-shaped pieces with a pizza cutter. Use cornstarch to help keep the cutter from sticking. Serve with Japanese tea.
5. Tea Party:
Make a ceremonial pot of tea to celebrate my new life. Set a nice table, with a flower; put on some Japanese music; choose a beautiful bowl to drink from; make and drink the tea with attention to every scent and taste.
6. Prepare garden beds for planting and plant the sabzeh:
Remember- the root purpose of Hina Matsuri is to prepare ourselves for spring planting. Today I also need to prepare the garden- loosen the soil, pull weeds, remove leaves, and dig in some fresh compost.
 |
| Our sabzeh: We keep them in a bag until the seeds sprout. |
The sabzeh is a bowl of sprouted grains, prepared for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which begins every year on the Spring Equinox. The sabseh is a symbol of new life.
Since it takes two weeks to get good looking sprouts, we usually start them on Hina Matsuri.
Supplies: A shallow bowl (we tried paper bowls this year and I can't say it was a success), damp soil, grain seeds (lentils and wheat are traditional; we planted a mixture of wheat, field peas, and ryegrain).
Fill the bowl with damp soil, cover the surface well with seeds, and spray daily with water.
7. Marzanna doll:The Slavs of Poland have a custom of burning an effigy of Marzanna at the spring equinox. Marzanna is the Slavic goddess of death, winter and nightmares; the symbolism is of death and rebirth- burning away the winter so that spring can return.
I've been working week by week on my Marzanna doll and this is the fourth week. Today I added cloth. I will add a new material each week until the equinox: Next week, yarn and beads, and then feathers.
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