Girl’s day 2016/03/03
March 3rd is a girl’s day. They cerebrate the day by displaying traditional beautiful dolls positioned on seven steps shelf together with fresh peach blossom.
It is said the cerebration originated from old custom in Heian era (794-1185), which prayed children’s healthy grown up. It was not easy and not common for children at that time to survive and grow up safely. Parents must have sincerely wished their children’s safe growth.
There used to be 5 big important seasonal festivals per lunar calendar, namely January 1st New year festival, March 3rd Girl’s festival, May 5th Boy’s festival, July 7th Star festival, September 9th Chrysanthemum festival.
Girl’s festival is as old as boy’s festival and as essential as boy’s festival.
Heian era was the time of female literature. There were so many talented popular female writers and poets such as Murasakishikibu who wrote female’s world oldest novel “Genijimonogatari” or Seishonagonn who wrote a crisp essay “Makuranososhi” and so on.
Japanese oldest anthology “Manyoshu” which collected more than 4500 poets mostly in 7th to 8th century, contained more than 10 % female poets.
Moreover the ancestor of Japanese Imperial family Amaterasu is a female God.
Japanese is the people who always have been respecting ladies highly from ancient time.
