Tomo's Hina dolls

Tomo's Vanity Dolls (the large couple) and lots more

As I mentioned in the previous article, Tomo's merchant families had elaborate Hina dolls not only for the healthy growth and happiness of their daughters but also for the prosperity of their family business. Some families bought the dolls even though they didn't have girls in their family. For them, the Hina dolls were something like good-luck talismans. 

Paper Cutout of Vanity Dolls

The families prepared the so-called Vanity Dolls to demonstrate their family wealth and tradition. The dolls wear  many layers of exquisite clothing  and the sleeves of the empress dolls had to be long and graceful. The photo is one example of this type of dolls. Also posted is a photo of an artistic paper cutout modeled on the same dolls made by a cutout artist living in Kure, Hiroshima but originally from Hanamaki, Iwate in Tohoku.




The photo below is simply heart-wrenching 'cause they are from the earthquake-affected area. They survived the disasters in 2011 and came over this far to Tomo-no-ura, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima for some strange connection and displayed at the Higo-ya house. For the time being until March 11 when Tomo's Hina dolls public display is over, you can go inside Tomo's traditional houses where the dolls including this pack are displayed.