Hanging decoration of Hinamatsuri is a custom originated in Edo period which is now mainly performed around Izu Inatori area.

Hanging decoration of Hinamatsuri is used to celebrate the first holiday after the girl is born. Relatives bless children grow healthy and disease free. Now it is also used to pray for thrives of the business and love.

The ornaments were mainly decorated in temples and shrines in the past and burned out after the celebrations. However it is no more burned out today. For this reason, hanging decorations made in the past were rare today.

Nowadays, people put the decorations on both side of the Hinamatsuri altar.

Hinamatruri hanging decoration festival was first hold in 1998 by Inatori Onsen Ryokan Organization in 1998 to boost the tourism of the local area. After similar ornaments became popular, various Festival activities are also held. In order to unify the planning and management, Higashi-Izu Commercial and Industrial Association established a community called “Inatori Momo no kai”.

Hanging decorations today includes as much as 50 types such as peach, monkey and triangles. Peaches are for longevity, monkeys are for exorcising evil spirits and triangles are for health.

The basic design of hanging decoration uses 5 red threads, each thread links 11 hanging decorations for 55 decorations in total. It need a pair so it is 110 in total. In order to pray good luck, the number of decorative ornaments must be 3, 5, 7, 9, so it is a inseparable odd-number.

In order to experience Hinamatsuri, we visited Inatori to learn about the making of hanging decorations.

An old lady’s working desk for making hanging decoration.

Under the instruction of an old lady, I chose a carp as my decoration making object, my friend chose a little red flower. The making of the little red flower doesn’t require sewing, so my friend finished her work within half an hour. My carp cost me more than one hour.

First sew up the fabrics to make the fins, scales and body of the carp. The old lady prised my ingenuity, I was so happy!

After finished the sewing, next to put cottons in the body of the carp to make it fluffy.

The final procedure is to attach the eyes of the fish, so it became alive.

When the old lady got to know that I came from China, she gave me two crafts as gifts.

After making the hanging decoration, we said goodbye to the old lady and went to see fine hanging decorations made by everybody displayed in the Culture Park.

A super big dolls popped in my eyes, after entering an assortment of ornaments, very beautiful.

The craft is very small but very expensive.

Higashi-Izu Inatori of Shizuoka, Sakada city of Yamagata and Yanagikawa city of Fukuoka are three largest hanging decorations of Japan.

No matter how the times change, that each stitch sewn into a mother’s love is not going to change in the decorations.

Information

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