The Japanese Doll Festival (雛祭り), or Girls' Day, is held on March 3, the third day of the third month. Platforms with a red hi-mōsen are used to display a set of ornamental dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.
The top tier holds two dolls representing the Emperor and Empress. The dolls are usually placed in front of a miniature gold folding screen.
The second tier holds three court ladies. Each holds a sake-filler.The third tier holds five male musicians. Each holds a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan.
On the fourth, fifth, and lower tiers display a variety of miniature furniture, tools, carriages. Two ministers may be displayed on the fourth tier: the Right Minister and the Left Minister.
The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi (lit. "doll floating"), in which straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking troubles or bad spirits with them.
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