We thank all guests who joined our East Garden of Imperial Palace tour on Feb. 24th.We welcomed 28 guests from Australia, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, UK, and USA. We divided them into 5 groups.
It was a sunny and pretty warmer day than the past few days. And you must have enjoyed the plum trees blooming in the garden. As Japanese, we feel a change of seasons from these signs. Speaking of a change of seasons, we can also feel it from the seasonal event. And one of the typical events is coming soon.
It is the “Hinamatsuri” on March 3rd, which is often called “Doll’s Festival” or “Girl’s Festival” in English. It is also called “Momo no Sekku,” which means “Peach Festival.” Hinamarsuri is a day to pray for the health and happiness of young girls. Families with girls display Hina Ningyo, which means Hina dolls. It is said that Hina Ningyo take away the bad luck of girls who own them. Hina Ningyo represent the Emperor, Empress, their servants and so on, wearing Heian period(AD794-1192) court costume.
Most parents put away Hina Ningyo as soon as Hinamatsuri is over. Because it is believed that if people put away Hina Ningyo too late, the girl will get married late in the future. So some fathers who don’t want their daughters to get married soon leave them as it is for a while intentionally.
We have a regular tour every Saturday and irregularly Asakusa and Meiji Shrine tour. Please check our website, Facebook and TripAdvisor.
(by Yosuke.S)