Girls' Festival Hinamattsuri (Doll’s Festival)

Hinamatsuri is an occasion to pray for young girls’ growth and happiness. It is celebrated each year on March 3. Most families with girls display dolls for the Doll’s Festival called Hina-ningyo. It is said that Hina Ｎingyo take away the bad luck of girls who own them.

Today, we eat traditional dishes like Scattered sushi(chirashi-sushi), clam soup, sweet white sake(shirozake), rise cake cubes(hina arare) and diamond-shaped rice cakes(hishimochi) for the Doll’s Festival. Chirashi-zushi is a kind of sushi with many scattered toppings such as salmon roe and sashimi on vinegared rice.

Hishimochi are diamond-shaped rice cakes and their colors are pink, white and green. Hina Arare are sweet bite-sized rice crackers and their colors are pink, white and green.