It Was Recently Hinamatsuri! 最近、ひな祭りでした！

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still here, and I plan to continue working on this blog. I have had a very busy month, and now I am back at uni, and the workload for Advanced Japanese is pretty intense! 

Recently in Japan, it was Hinamatsuri. Hinamatsuri is an annual festival, that takes place on the 3rd of March. This festival is dedicated to praying for the health and wellbeing of daughters in the family. To do this, from around the middle of February, families can display special dolls that sit on a special platform. These dolls and the platform represent the imperial palace and it's inhabitants. Even though the Hinamatsuri we know today didn't begin until the Edo period (1603-1868), the dolls wear Heian period (794-1185) kimono. After the festival, the dolls must be put away quickly, as it is said that leaving them out for too long can delay the marriage of your daughter.

These days though, you can buy many different modern doll sets, such as Hello Kitty, and even Disney! I prefer the more traditional looking dolls despite loving Disney, but they are still really cute!

Which kind of doll do you prefer?

私はまたいます！最近、とても忙しくて、今、大学が始まりました。今年、よく日本語の勉強をしなければなりません！

最近、日本でひな祭りでした。毎年、三月三日に女の子のために節句があります。二月から節句が終わるまで、ひな壇の上にひな祭りの人形を飾れます。ひな壇は宮城を形取って、雛様は皇室を形取ります。ひな祭りの人形を早くしまい込まれないなら、娘の結婚式は遅れます。

今のひな祭りが江戸時代（1603-1868）に始まったのに、雛様は平安時代（794-1185）の着物を着ます。

今、色々なひな祭りの人形を買えます。例えば、ハローキティやディズニーの雛様があります。私はディズニーが大好きなのに、伝統的な雛様を好むが、またとてもかわいいと思います。

どんなひな祭りの人形を好むか。

ベッキー。

Becky.