Emoji 101: Let's celebrate Hina Matsuri 🎎

March 3 in Japan is Hina Matsuri-- 雛祭り「ひなまつり」--the annual holiday honoring and celebrating girls. As with a handful of other special cultural occasions in Japan, it has its very own emoji!

The Hina Matsuri emoji, found in the "Objects" category on iPhones

Also known as "Girls' Day" or "Doll Festival" (the latter being the literal kanji translation), Hina Matsuri is celebrated in Japanese households and communities in varying degrees of complexity. For example, the "Big Hina Matsuri" in Katsuura, Tokushima takes the day to the extreme, with festivities marked by an incredible display of over 30,000 dolls! More modest celebrations may only include two hina ningyo dolls--the Emperor and Empress, as represented in the emoji seen above--although the iconic Hina Matsuri display includes the addition of several more dolls on a tiered display, representing members of the Heian Imperial Court. Small snacks like rice crackers are given as offerings to the dolls.

With its roots in the Heian period (794-1185), when dolls were displayed as a means to contain bad spirits--or were even floated down rivers with the same intent in mind, as seen in the ancient practice of nagashi-bina-- Hina Matsuri has a few different purposes in modern Japanese life. Families see the day as a time to pray for their daughters' health and happiness and view it as a step to womanhood, with hopes of future marriages in mind. But don't tarry on packing away the display for next year: a common belief is that if the dolls are left out on display too long, a daughter's chances at marriage may be delayed!

A Hina Matsuri display in the Pokemon world
with Pikachu as the Emperor and Clefairy as the Empress,
as seen in episode 52 of the anime

Much like other holidays in Japan and elsewhere, corporations have been quick to capitalize on Hina Matsuri. Beginning a few days ago, special Hina Matsuri cakes were available for special order from supermarkets (スーパー) and conbini (コンビニ, or convenience stores), offering a variety of designs ranging from more traditional strawberry cakes to on-trend Yokai Watch character cakes and everything in between; at my local supermarket, うれしいひなまつり ("Happy Hina Matsuri") played on repeat on the loudspeaker (give it a listen here!) as Hina Matsuri sweets and treats were offered for sale; and today, even Google Japan's Doodle featured the dolls. I can even remember an old Pokemon episode called "Princess vs. Princess" when Misty and Jessie competed in the "Princess Festival" for a set of must-have Pokemon dolls. (Note that the Japanese title of this episode was  げきとう！ポケモンひなまつり--or "Fierce fight! Pokemon Hina Matsuri"--so it's obvious that the Japanese writers intended for this so-called Princess Festival to be Kanto's own Hina Matsuri celebration, especially since it was celebrated annually on March 3. However, as with many Japanese imports, cultural nuances were lost in translation.)

Today's Google Doodle in Japan

So how is an American celebrating Hina Matsuri here in Tokyo's Toshima ward, other than by writing this blog post? Well, while the dolls are absolutely beautiful, I can't exactly afford to buy a set for myself--we saw a few displays for sale at the Toys R Us in Sunshine City, and they're pricey, to say the least. Within my financial grasp, however, are some delicious sweets and deals, as shown below!

Hina Matsuri displays at my local supermarket (L) and convenience store (R)

Gorgeous Hina Matsuri chirashizushi (L); nothing says "festival" like a party pack of discount natto maki! (R)

My favorite Hina Matsuri treat might be these ベビーアンドーナツ, or "baby an donuts"--basically dense, sweet donut holes filled with red bean paste

My first exposure to Hina Matsuri was at my best friend's house when I was 8 years old. She and her family had just moved to Indiana from Japan that previous summer. Toward the end of February, they set up a display that instantly enthralled my third grade self: beautiful, golden folding screens with lanterns hanging from them, with two ornate porcelain hina ningyo dolls sitting in front of them. I had never seen anything like it, although it would be a few years until I fully understood what it was.

Wherever in the world you are, why not get into the spirit of Hina Matsuri today? Add its emoji to one of your texts, snaps, or other messages, and imagine what life would have been like as a member of the Heian court! 🎎 

Coming up: the true meanings behind emoji

Recently used emoji from my Snapchat

A significant part of the industrialized world has access to smartphones, and a standard feature with those are hundreds of tiny, colorful icons used to convey thoughts and emotions. I'm talking, of course, about emoji, or 絵文字「えもじ」. A combination of the Japanese kanji for "picture" (e) and "character" (moji), Shigetaka Kurita initially developed them for use by NTT docomo's newest line of mobile phones in the late 1990s. When smartphones--most notably, Apple's iPhone--came to the West a few years later, the Japanese creation was introduced to a wider international audience, and the use of them spread like wildfire.

Much like its predecessor, the colon paired with a left or right parenthesis-- :( or :) --emoji can effectively express ideas and feelings without a single word needed. They're a true modern-day take on the idiom, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Since Shigetaka's creation was inspired by Japanese manga and pictographs, the meanings behind some of the icons were inevitably lost in translation--or were given new meanings, as I've personally observed. In future blog posts, including one coming soon, I'll be taking a look at the original meanings behind different emoji in the context of Japanese culture, history, and daily life.

So, how about you? Do you use emoji often? What's your favorite?