Hina Matsuri 雛祭り - Girls' Holiday (March 3)

March 3rd in Japan is the holiday for girls called 雛祭り or Hina-matsuri. It is also one of the seasonal holidays for the peach blossom since peach flowers blossom around the same date in the lunar calendar.

Since classic Japan is not EEOC, this girls' holiday is not a national holiday while the boys' holiday, May 5, is. It is called こどもの日 "Kodomo no hi", or Children's Holiday in current Japan, so it is officially non-gender but it is traditionally the holiday for boys.

Please check Wikipedia for extra details about Hina-matsuri if you're interested; here is an overview. The girls' holiday Hina-matsuri is the day for the Hina dolls decoration. Hina (hiina) is an archaic name of dolls in Japanese and the holiday for Hina became Hina-matsuri. Based on local tradition, the holiday involves a special set of dolls. This decorative display came to be called "Hina-ningyo (ningyo means dolls)".

The Hina-ningyo doll set is quite a common gift for a baby girls' first March 3. The most common set is a 7-step display as shown above. A red carpet covers the 7 staircase-like platforms and the dolls are placed on each step-like platform in a certain order. This represents a wedding of Emperor (not sure which Emperor). The one my sister and I had for some reason had a description saying it was Emperor Tenchi (from the 8th century) but it is more common to be an anonymous emperor in the Heian era (8-12th century).

The order of the dolls are as follows:

The top level: the Emperor (O-dairi-sama) and Empress (O-hina-sama). Actually the "dairi" means the couple of Emperor and Empress but currently "dairi" usually means just the Emperor. "O" is a common prefix in Japanese to indicate respect. Some left wingers don't like to imply the festival as celebrating the wedding of the Emperor, so "otoko-bina (male hina)" and "onna-bina (female hina)" are used for more neutral names for the doll couple. Ohina-sama also means the whole set of dolls.

The second level: 3 court ladies called "San-nin (3 people) kanjo (court ladies-in-waiting)"

The third level: 5 male musicians called "Go-nin (5 people) bayashi (musicians)".

The fourth level: 2 ministers, a Minister of the Right Court, and a Minister of the Left Court.

The fifth level: 3 helpers -- one is crying, one is laughing and one is in anger.

Between these dolls, food and plants for the wedding are placed; and the sixth and seventh level platforms hold the furniture, palanquin and cow carriage.

However, the 7-platform set can be quite expensive, and big too. Many people in big cities don't have such space at home to decorate the big 7 platform sets, so there are smaller sets available: a 5- platform set, a 3-platform set, and a set with only the Emperor and Empress. The set usually comes encased in glass, like the one in the right.

Some families pass their hina-doll set over from one generation to the next, so it is not so unusual to see sets that are over 100 years old. If you visit Japan around this holiday, lots of museums show museum pieces of old hina dolls set. If you visit and want to see one of them, please contact us. I'll look up some places for you that have such sets on display.

For traditional girls, decorating the dolls is a favorite activity, in the same way Western folks love to decorate Christmas trees. And, putting away the doll set right after the holiday is also important. We used to say that a girl will be late to marry if she procrastinates in putting away her Hina dolls. Now we don't have the same mindset as years ago, that girls should marry early. In fact Japan is among the highest for the average age of women marrying. So the date to decorate the dolls are not very much fixed. Every girl knows though, that the doll set should be put away after the holiday.

Kawari-bina fashion

I don't know when it started but some time in the middle of the Showa era (sometime in the 60's), hina doll theme sets came into fashion. A set, usually only with the marrying couple, is arranged based on a well known event from the year before. Like, a long time ago, they had a set to commemorate the moon landing. This year, they have a set that represents the World Cup women's soccer champion team. Sets with zodiac animals are common, as is the Hello Kitty design shown here.

Also, you can view a how-to video of Origami (folding paper craft) for ohinasama. There are so many different ways of folding the Origami papers for ohinasama, it is a common activity in Japanese kindergarten and school around the time of February. Please see number 256 of the video which is the sequent video after this which shows the how-to of the head and accessory parts.

Japanese doll makers and department stores display hina doll sets for sale. Here are some links for the doll makers' sites:

Kyugetsu
Yoshitoku
Toei: This page shows a lot of "in the case" sets. They are favored by people without lots of extra space at home.
Mataro The way of this doll making is called "kimekomi", the wood body (seems resin mold now) "wearing" dress. Here is introduction video of kimekomi from Smithsonian. And this is more detailed video, she has the following videos as well.

Omiyage - Much Loved Character Souvenirs (Part 2 of 2)

Planning a visit to Japan in the future? Having a plan is always a good thing...right down to the souvenirs you'll be buying. Consider these ideas.

If you are thinking about curios or cute things for kids, there is a very convenient place right by Tokyo Station. It's in the B1F (Basement - 1st floor) Tokyo Eki Ichiban-gai (First Avenue Tokyo Station) just outside of the Yaesu Exit, called Tokyo Character Street.

Japanese love items called "character goods". You'll see all sorts of goodies featuring Japanese kids' favorite characters. Here's a brief translation of the possible items to choose from (from top to bottom).

Shochiku Kabuki Honpo: Hit items sold in Kabuki-za, the Kabuki theater; a sort of like a museum shop of Kabukiza I assume.

Jump Shop: Character goods from the manga magazine "Shonen Jump" including "One Piece", "Naruto" and the original characters created by Akira Toriyama.

Tomica Shop: Tomica is originally a miniature car collection line by toy manufacturer Tomy. The items are miniature cars and goods with the car characters.

Plarail Shop: Plarail is another long time hit line of Tomy's toy line; plastic rails and plastic train miniatures. It would be a kid's dream to have enough plarails to make a town out of the rails and other pieces but, unfortunately for me and my friends, we had insufficient space at home to build our play-town. Now, any people that had to deal with that type of trauma growing up still love these items today.

NHK Character Shop: NHK is a Japanese national broadcast network like the British BBC. The characters from the NHK TV shows. (Channel 1 and 3)

Snoopy Town Mini: You might know about this. If you are a Snoopy collector, Japan has many of the original items.

Rascal Shop: Rascal was a story of a racoon and one of the long time surviving TV animation series called Sekai Meisaku Gekijo 世界名作劇場, meaning World Masterpiece Theater. (for kids). This shop is of the only shop of the creator of the series Nippon Animation Co., Ltd.

Donguri Garden: This is the shop of Studio Ghibli, the creator of the big hit animation like Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. If someone likes Japanese animation, Ghibli is the 101. (Note: Studio Ghibli is also responsible for such recent animated films as Ponyo" and "The Secret World of Arrietty.")

Fuji TV Shop: This is the shop of the well known Fuji TV network. Their headquarters building is in Odaiba, Tokyo. (Channel 8 in Tokyo)

TV Tokyo Honpo: Another TV network but this is a Tokyo local vicinity only station. (Channel 12 in Tokyo)

TBS Store: Another TV network shop, Tokyo Broadcasting System or TBS. (Channel 6 in Tokyo)

Tele-Asa Shop; Another TV network, Asahi Television, usually called Tele-Asa. (Channel 10 in Tokyo)

Nittele-ya: Also a TV network, Nihon Television, Nittele is the abbreviation. (Channel 4 in Tokyo)

Ultraman World M78: M78 is where the Ultraman was born. This is the shop of it.

Lego Click Brick: I guess you need no explanation for this.

Capybara-san Kyurutto Shop: Capybara is quite a loved animal in Japan (not as a pet, just seeing them in a zoo). It's name uses a character with the meaning of "healing" because of its relaxed characteristics. This shop carries the character items of Capybara and the concept is natural, it says. Here's Capybara-san. Ha ha, I just saw it for the first time, I love it. Kawaii~~ Iyasareru~~ (So cute and healing).... I love the ones in the hot springs. "Healing characteristics" is called "iyashi-chara", Japanese people love this type of healing.

Rerakkuma Shop. Rirakkuma is a made-up word that combines relax and kuma (bear). The bear character is relaxing. I think this character is sold in the US by Sanrio.

Pricure Pritty Store: I may not be right with the spelling. If you know the right one, please let us know.

Hello Kitty Shop: This is another character quite popular in Japan and becoming a hit in the US.

Miffy Style: Miffy is Dick Bruna's rabbit's shop.

K-spot: It's a showcase of new characters and items on trend. The producer is Kiddy Land, a big toy retail store.

About Omiyage, or Souvenirs (Part 1 of 2)

お土産 Omiyage is commonly translated to the word "souvenir", which we all know are things you buy during your travels and bring home with you. They can be for yourself or to give your friends and family. In Japan, if you happen to work at an office, it is standard practice to buy souvenir chocolates or other sweets and take them to the office as a gift for coworkers, to thank them for their help while you were away on a business trip or for vacation.

You might want something special if you visit Japan but, among Japanese, these are their favorites.

携帯ストラップ Keitai Strap (Cell Phone Strap)

Japanese love collecting tiny things; the art of Netsuke has been known for years. Instead of Netsuke attached to a wallet, the trend is now to attach straps and /or decorative items to a cell phone -- there is a large market in Japan for these straps. (Note: "strap" can mean an actual strap you slip your hand through, or a toy or trinket.) Japanese call cell phones "keitai denwa (portable phone)". The word "phone"is dropped. So in everyday life your Keitei is your cell phone. Keitai straps, according to my observation, should be one of the top items for a souvenir.

In the photo above, Kitty-chan (known as "Hello Kitty" in the US) is holding the Sky Tree. A strap that is designed so that Kitty is attached to some local item is "ご当地キティ Gotochi Kitty". Gotochi refers to a pertinent area of interest so it implies "local". The words of "Gotochi ______" mean a local item. For example, "Gotochi gourmet" means what the visitors want to eat during their trip. "Gotochi straps" are favorite souvenir items to collect or give as a gift for friends and family. Gotochi Kitty-chan straps are quite highly collected items and there are so many different kinds. You'll find at least a couple of them in shops inside the airports and stations or the gift shops in the tourist attractions. Of course Kitty is not the only one. There are so many different characters attached to the local representing items. Quite a few areas have their own characters. And like the image above "Hatsune Miku Kitty-chan", there are items not related to the local area but are special and usually depicting a popular character.

Actually these are an evolved version of old days' key chains. You'll also see a variety of old fashioned Gotochi key chains (Japanese call this a "kii horudaa (key holder)"). Keitai straps are a really favorite souvenir item all over in Japan. These little items are not expensive and usually small, so they are an ideal souvenir of Japan.

Sweets

Local original sweets are also a favorite Japanese souvenir. Often they are neatly packaged individually, which make them handy to give to coworkers as well as to eat by yourself or with your family and friends.

Here are the top Tokyo souvenir sweets you can buy inside Tokyo Station and at Narita and Haneda airports. Note: I'm not a sweet eater so most of them I've never eaten. Sorry, I can't give you a good review.

銘菓ひよこ Meika Hiyoko

Hiyoko means chicks, the "Meika (famous sweet) Hiyoko" or simply "Hiyoko" is a long time Tokyo souvenir sweet.
A similar item is raccoons, ぽんぽこたぬき Ponpoko Tanuki is more known by me. Both are sold in Narita and Haneda airports. They are sweet bean based, so they may not be too popular for Western tastes, but Japanese love these. You'll find quite a variety of similar sweets which are made with sweet beans and shaped like animals or flowers; they can be purchased all over Japan. This actually originated in Fukuoka in Kyushu, but is known as a Tokyo sweet since the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 when the company started selling them in Tokyo.

ショコラヴィヨン Chocolat Vion

Actually I don't know how to spell this item. These are chocolate covered cookies from Shiseido Parlor. Shiseido is a known cosmetic producer but they originally was a drugstore. In the drugstore there would be a soda fountain, named Shiseido Parlor. So the descendent of this business still remains. You can find a luxurious cafe in the headquarters building as well as in a few branches. The shop part of the business sell them. The original location is in Ginza.

舟和いも羊羹 Funawa Imo Yokan

This is a Japanese version of a sweet potato delicacy. It's made of sweet potato, a long time souvenir sweet of Asakusa. Yokan is a molded square shaped bar, usually made of sweet beans but this is made of sweet potatoes. This is not sold in Narita.

東京ばな奈 Tokyo Banana

It seems to be the best known Tokyo souvenir sweet; everyone knows about it but I wasn't familiar with this treat for a long time, so I think this may be more of a recent favorite. The official website celebrates their 20th anniversary. It's a butter cake with a banana flavored cream filling. I've never tried this so I have no idea what it tastes like. But I would guess that most Westerners will like it. The manufacturer's headquarters is in the Suginami Ward of Tokyo.

東京スマイルマカロン Tokyo Smile Macarons

Macarons are pretty popular sweets in Japan in recent years. I have no idea what these taste like. If you're curious see the linked wikipedia explanation to figure out what it is. I just liked the smilie guy with the colorful pieces -- they are sold in Haneda Airport. It seems they do not have a shop in Narita and I'm not sure the shop in Tokyo Station sells the ones with smiles and hearts. The main shop is in Ginza. They have many shops all over in Japan. Pictured are the Tokyo Smile Macarons.

Here's another heart shaped Macarons from サマンサタバサ Samantha Thavasa. This is a high fashion apparel brand that mainly sells bags and jewelry. They have a shop in Haneda and sell sweets and serve cafe items inside the shop. I believe it is a Japanese business but this website shows a lot of advertising photos with the Western models. It looks odd but it is pretty common to see the Western models in Japanese publications and TV commercials, although they have no relation to the foreigners nor any foreign language information availability.

All of the above items are from Tokyo. Please send us a request and we can furnish information on souvenirs from a particular locale in Japan that you're interested in.

Excellent Japanese Cooking Tutors on YouTube

A few years ago I developed an interest in cooking, and asked my older sister, a very good cook, to give me lessons. She agreed and has since taught me to make lots of delicious American and ethnic dishes. Now we often exchange recipes, and each summer we love to take trips together to the farmers market and share the fun of cooking foods that are fresh, organic and farm-to-table whenever possible. As much as I love Japanese food, though, I haven’t made any dishes at all (until recently). I always thought they would be too difficult, or I would make the food incorrectly and the taste would be awful.

Then last year I discovered several Japanese cooks who create English / Japanese videos and post them on YouTube. Two of them have become my favorite Japanese cooking tutors, and I am in good company. Each of them has thousands of YouTube subscribers. Their bilingual videos are watched by viewers all around the world. I would like to write about them today. I will call it a Valentine to my Japanese cooking heroes.

Also, just recently I discovered some very unfortunate news about one of them. Please read on – I’ll explain. My YouTube Japanese cooking tutors are both quirky, humorous and interesting. They don’t take themselves too seriously. I love how they use the video format to have fun reaching out to their audiences. The first has simply named her YT channel Cooking With Dog.

Great YouTube Japanese Cook #1: Cooking With Dog (CWD)

The CWD chef is a middle aged woman who lives in the suburbs of Tokyo. She always has her dog Francis, a gray fluffy poodle, sitting on the kitchen counter, watching her work. Francis also hosts each tutorial. He introduces the dish and narrates during the entire video…in English. (I’m thinking the voice over must be Chef’s husband…whoever it is, his English is heavily accented but still easy to understand.) Chef doesn’t seem to speak English. She usually makes a few comments in Japanese, always with a shy smile and pleasant demeanor. In the video description a full list of ingredients for the dish is provided, both in English and in Japanese. She creates tutorial videos about many types of dishes that are just a part of Japanese life and loved by most everyone, including:

Gyoza

Oyster Egg Drop Donburi

Tsukemen

Crepes

Ochazuke

Oden

Takoyaki

Omurice* (*A worldwide YT favorite! Since Jan. 2009, video viewed over 1.1 million times!)

Yakisoba

Sushi and California Rolls

Onigiri

Bento Box

Fried Shrimp

Custard Pudding (or Flan -- Superb!!!)

The tutorials are filmed and edited quite professionally. They are more like TV program segments than home made videos. The tutorials run between 4 and 10 minutes long. She has enabled the YT “Interactive Transcript” feature so if you click on the icon in the menu options, you can see all commentary in printed format. Copy and paste this to a document and you’ll have step by step instructions for future reference.

To find all of these video tutorials and many more click here.

It is not the end of the story about this chef. We learned this sad news on February 3^: “On January 15th, cookingwithdog's Chef sustained serious injuries while riding her bicycle in the suburbs of Tokyo. She was rushed to the ICU by helicopter. She is now in a stable condition.”

And this message is now posted on CWD’s channel:

“Thank you very much for your kind words and prayers from around the world. Chef was transferred from ICU to the general ward at the end of January, but her recovery will take many months and include a long rehabilitation period. I don't know the schedule at this point, but I will make sure that she will get well as soon as possible. Thank you again for being so thoughtful.”

Someone close to the CWD Chef (I guess her husband) just posted a new video tutorial two days ago on Feb 12. It was filmed before the accident and has been remastered. The video shows how to make Yakibuta Ramen (Roasted Pork Ramen). In just a couple of days the video views total so far over 63,000 with over 1,700 comments left in the Comments section. Most are to wish Chef a speedy recovery. (I wrote one too) Here is that video. Note: If you'd like to read the comments, click on the YouTube icon in the lower right corner. When the video appears in the YT channel screen, you can view the comments left by viewers immediately below.

Great YouTube Japanese Cook #2: runnyrunny999

Meet Taro, a 30-something Japanese guy with a boyish face and very good English speaking ability. He spent some time living in the USA and now lives in Japan with his family. He says he was inspired by CWD’s video tutorials and decided to make his own. He contacted her for some tips and has created tutorials that are similar in style and format to hers. They have become friends, he says; he feels grateful for her help. Here is one difference with his videos, though. Taro narrates his own videos in English, and provides Japanese subtitles. He also has a blog which is interesting because he writes posts in both English and Japanese. It’s great! In his blog, he describes his reasons for creating a YouTube channel:

“I started youtube June 2008. It's been fun trip because I can communicate with many different kinds of people from many different kinds of countries. Sometimes I can feel many people feel the same way as I do even though they are from different country : ) Now I make a cooking video mostly. 2008年6月にYoutubeを始めて以来、違う国の色々な人達との交流を楽しませてもらってます。国は違くても自分と同じ感じ方をする人々と出会う事 が時折あります。”

Taro has made many very good Japanese cooking videos, showing viewers how to make dishes like an Okosoma lunch, Tamagoyaki, Okonomiyaki, and Pork Miso Soup.

He also bakes! In his YT channel runnyrunny999, look for Taro's video tutorial on a two layer vanilla cake with strawberries on top. It's very cool! He is funny and light hearted in his approach to food and cooking. You will see his sense of humor come out in his videos, as in this one, for example:

Now for a touching story. When Taro heard about CWD Chef’s accident, he wanted to do something to reach out to her and help her, so he created a video asking for CWD’s subscriber-fans around the world to send video clips to him to cheer up and encourage CWD Chef. He edited the clips and made a video--a Video Get Well Card, kind of. Here it is:

This is the reply from someone speaking for CWD Chef, dated today, Feb. 14:

“Today, Chef watched this video and she was touched by the messages. Here is her short message to Runny-san. 「全部一気に見ました。世界中からcookingwithdog­のシェフさんと呼ばれ感激しています。ラニーさんの優しさが伝わ­っ てきました。ありがとう。」 "I've watched the whole video at once. I am impressed that I am referred to as Cooking with Dog's Chef from around the world. I've felt Runny-san's kindness. Thank you." I thank everyone who participated in this video, especially Runny-san who organized this project. I'm sorry it took so long to respond this video.”

The comments for this video post are also interesting. One of my favorites:

“It's just amazing to see how food can bring the world together.”

The tutorial videos described above are helpful for learning what Japanese foods and ingredients are called in English. I've also picked up some very useful kitchen techniques. I hope any readers who have an interest in Japanese cooking will check out the You Tube channels of these two impressive Japanese cooks. They take the fear factor out of Japanese cooking, and show you step by step how to make delicious, authentic Japanese dishes.

In conclusion, my thoughts are with CWD Chef and her family. I hope she feels better soon.