There’s a little town about two hours from Tokyo called Katsuura, where one a year, dolls rule. 12,000 of them, to be exact.
Just for comparison, this is about the most extravagant Girls’ Day display I’d seen before going to Katsuura. Most families just put out the emperor and empress, but the ones who are willing to lay out the really big bucks collect the whole set: three ladies in waiting, five musicians, two hoity-toity ministers, three drunken uncles and a bunch of furniture and occasionally, livestock
The most famous display is at the local shrine, where the dolls are set out every morning and put away every night by an army of volunteers
But it’s not the only doll extravaganza in town – the other shrines and temples put out crazy numbers of them too, and because the town is small, you can just walk around and see them all
There’s even a gym with the biggest doll cheering section ever
And it’s not just the boggling number of dolls that thrill – there are some really gorgeous examples wearing 12-layer court dress kimonos, so you can get a sense of the fashions that rocked the Heian world.
There are really old dolls on display too – these are Meiji Era Beauties
And how do you one-up the neighbors when you’ve already shelled out for the creme de la creme of dolls? Why, build them a palace, of course!
As you walk around town, pretty much every business has a doll-themed display outside…
…and some are not exactly traditional
So, how did Katsuura get so many dolls? The truth is, pretty much every Japanese girlbaby is given a set on her first New Year’s, but if you run out of girls to hand them down to, they’re really hard to throw away!
It’s not just because they’re hella expensive – these dolls actually have to be cremated. Yes, because they’re invested with the power of Shinto gods, they fall into the category of sacred garbage. Which means you can’t just bundle them into a plastic bag and kick them to the curb on burnable trash day, you have to pay priests at a shrine for a doll funeral. (Nevermind the shoot-me-now horror of throwing away dolls and beloved stuffed animals – admit it, you have a scruffy collection in a box in the closet too!)
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Last Tea Bowl Thiefwas chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon
For three hundred years, a missing tea bowl passes from one fortune-seeker to the next, changing the lives of all who possess it…read more
“A fascinating mix of history and mystery.” —Booklist
Reblogged this on Darswords and commented:
Because I love her books and her blog. I have to share! I feel she has given me quite the education of all things Japan.
Me, too! That would be fun! But you do a nice job showing and telling about what you’ve witnessed, that I almost feel that I’m there. 🙂
Oh my. Amazing.
Just finished a book you might like Daughters of the Samurai by Janice Nimura. It is about women and education at the start of the Meiji period. It actually is a page turner. I learned a lot of history of Japan and US.
Yes, hand-me-downs are common, because the doll sets are SO expensive! And thank you for asking that question, because I caught an error in my post – girl babies are usually given the dolls on their first New Year’s, not their first birthday. (Although until modern times, everybody celebrated their birthday on New Year’s not on the actual day of their birth – so if I’d been writing this blog a hundred years ago, I wouldn’t be having to mea culpa right now!)
Only In Japan 
Reblogged this on Darswords and commented:
Because I love her books and her blog. I have to share! I feel she has given me quite the education of all things Japan.
This is fascinating! Thanks for sharing. I had to share and reblog!
Wow, I am so honored! And happy that you enjoyed the photos & such – wish we could see these together! ♡
Me, too! That would be fun! But you do a nice job showing and telling about what you’ve witnessed, that I almost feel that I’m there. 🙂
Oh my. Amazing.
Just finished a book you might like Daughters of the Samurai by Janice Nimura. It is about women and education at the start of the Meiji period. It actually is a page turner. I learned a lot of history of Japan and US.
Know you are having fun.
D ❣
Sent from my iPhone
>
Sounds fascinating! Nonfiction?
Do you know if girls are given a new set on their first birthday or can it be hand me down?
Yes, hand-me-downs are common, because the doll sets are SO expensive! And thank you for asking that question, because I caught an error in my post – girl babies are usually given the dolls on their first New Year’s, not their first birthday. (Although until modern times, everybody celebrated their birthday on New Year’s not on the actual day of their birth – so if I’d been writing this blog a hundred years ago, I wouldn’t be having to mea culpa right now!)
Good grief. I’m a huge doll fan and had never heard of this. I suppose it’s too late to see them this year?
Arg, yes, this year it was on from 2/29 to 3/5. (><;;) But here's the website, so you can go next year! http://www.city.katsuura.lg.jp/forms/info/info.aspx?info_id=30237