The Beaton Life: Hina Matsuri

In February I went on a cultural trip within Iwakuni to learn about Hina Matsuri, or the Hina Doll Festival, also known as Girls Day. It is a national holiday in Japan, to celebrate girls and to wish them health and happiness and marriage. Starting in February they set up these step platforms to place the Hina Dolls on, the emperor and empress on top and their posse on the steps below.

We went to a community center in Iwakuni where we learned about Hina Matsuri and helped place all of the dolls where they are supposed to go, then we made Iwakuni sushi (and ate it!), went back upstairs and tried on part of a kimono and had a traditional tea ceremony! It was a really great experience learning about the culture and history and about Girls Day.

Me placing one of the dolls on the platform!

A and I

The ingredients for Iwakuni Sushi, Banana leaf on the bottom, rice, lotus root, shiitake mushrooms, carrot, sweetened ground fish, vegetable, then egg!

E and A helping make sushi!

It is made in this wooden box

You press it with this top (while it is still in the box, we were deconstructing it at this point)

Yum!! We had a large piece of the sushi, seaweed miso soup, and a lotus root salad. I'm not a fan of seaweed, I tried the miso but didn't care for it, but the sushi and the lotus root salad were so yummy!