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This is a festival to wish for the sound health of children, by placing hina dolls on a small boat knitted with straw, and floating them on the Mitarashi-gawa River that runs through the shrine. Most hina dolls are a very simple man or woman made of colored paper. The Hina-matsuri Festival, or Hina Dolls festival, was originally held to expel one’s sins by giving them over to these dolls. Therefore, although we generally display hina dolls in tiers in the room today, a traditional custom, such as floating dolls on the river is still remained in some regions. |