How to Display Hina Ningyo

How to Display Hina Ningyo

At first, people would set up the hina folding screen on a flat surface and arrange the simply made hina ningyo and accessories. By the latter half of the Edo period, the hina display had grown to five or even seven tiers that hosted a lively group of ningyo, including five musicians, three court ladies, and guards. The five musicians are a reference to the musicians who accompany Noh performances and were particularly popular among people in Edo. The three court ladies, representing ladies who served in the imperial court, are thought to have originated in Kyoto, however, where the court was then located.
There originally were no detailed rules for displaying hina ningyo. Illustrations in Edo-period books depict displays bustling with several pairs of the emperor and empress hina that suggest how much people enjoyed them.
The arrangement of the emperor and empress hina has been influenced by the positioning of the emperor and empress at the Showa Emperor’s enthronement in 1928 and the way portraits of the emperor and empress were arranged. The male hina is placed on the viewer’s left, the female on the right. In Kyoto and other parts of the Kansai region, however, the traditional Asian respect for the left side is still alive, and the male hina is often placed on his left (the viewer’s right) and the female on his right (the viewer’s left).