Wikimedia Commons Awashima-jinja ningyo.jpg
AwASHIMA JINJA IS A SHRINE for women and is famous for its enormous collection of dolls
Every year on March 3rd, Awashima jinja is home to a doll festival called nagashi bina, in which boatloads of hina ningyo are launched into the ocean. As the boats are rocked by the waves, the dolls fall overboard and sink into the ocean. It is believed that the dolls will take away the sicknesses and bad luck afflicting their former owners, and the ritual has become very popular.
On this day every year, families set up a special step-altar on which to arrange their Emperor and Empress dolls, called "hina" in Japanese. They decorate this altar with boughs of peach blossoms and make offerings to the hina dolls of freshly made rice cakes (mochi), either flavored with a wild herb or colored and cut into festive diamond shapes.
Awashima jinja is mainly for hina ningyo, dolls that are given to young girls to be displayed every year on Girl’s Day, March 3rd. The festival dates back to 1687 and is a time for praying for the health and happiness of a family’s daughters. Awashima jinja’s collection is not limited to hina ningyo, however. There are literally thousands of dolls here, and an even greater number of sculptures, figurines, carvings, and statues. You’ll find tanuki, maneki neko, daruma, frogs, yoshitsune, shichi fukujin, and many more.
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