Images of Japan: Katsuura Big Hinamatsuri

On Sunday March 3 the annual Hina-matsuri or Girls’ Day festival was celebrated across Japan. During the festival and in the run up to it families typically decorate their homes with ornamental “hina” dolls in a custom believed to bring about good health for girls.

The festival is seen by many as heralding the coming of spring. 

In the coastal city of Katsuura in Chiba Prefecture, Sunday marked the final day of the city’s Big Hinamatsuri which had been running since February 23. 

During the festival the narrow streets around the city’s fishing port and market are decorated with displays of Hina dolls, most of which are put together by local stores and businesses. Displays of the ornate dolls peer out from shop windows, between shelves, and from the pages of cafe menus.  

Closed off to most vehicles, the avenues of Nakahoncho Asaichi-dori and Chuo-dori hosted much of the festive foot traffic on Sunday - stores had set up streetside stalls, performers pounded on taiko drums, and festival goers took up residence on curbsides and in car parks to consume snacks and sake. 

(Nakahoncho Asaichi-dori during the Katsuura Big Hinamatsuri on Sunday.)

This year, the 21st edition of the festival, Katsuura Big Hinamatsuri saw three particularly large displays of Hina dolls - one outside Kakuoji temple (featuring around 600 dolls) and another at the Tone intersection (featuring around 1,000). It’s the display at Tomisaki-jinja shrine, however, which forms the centerpiece of the festivities here. 

(Display of Hina dolls at the Tone intersection in Katsuura City.)

At the foot of the shrine a stone staircase of 60 steps makes for a stiff climb up a rocky coastal bluff behind the main torii gate, leading towards the shrine’s upper precincts. During the festival each day all 60 steps of the staircase are covered with red cloth and decorated with Hina dolls amounting to around 1,800 dolls in total. 

(Hina display, Tomisaki-jinja shrine, Katsuura City.)

On Sunday, the queue to see the staircase display up close snaked around the streets and must have been over a hundred meters long. The display is large enough and high enough to be seen from further away though.

Actually, perhaps one of the greatest joys of Katsuura’s Big Hinamatsuri can be found in the easy pleasure of wandering the streets, taking in the festive atmosphere and wondering when and from where the next display of Hina dolls will pop out.  

(One of the joys of the Katsuura Big Hinamatsuri is spotting the many smaller displays of Hina dolls that dot the city.)

On the other hand, one of the festival's greatest frustrations for many visitors (and probably locals, too) might have been in trying to find a parking spot. Upon our arrival all six municipal parking spots dotted around town were full and people were having to snap up spaces outside supermarkets and other large facilities. 

Last year, local authorities began operating a free service of open-top buses between festival venues near Kazusa-Okitsu station, through the main event area in Katsuura, and on to neighboring Onjuku. The Hina Tour Sky Bus service proved so popular that ahead of this year’s festival authorities said they would be increasing the number of buses.

Late afternoon we headed out of town following Route 128 northeast. Where it hits the coast at Hebara the road boasts a lofty view over the beach and surf below. It’s a striking scene and the water here can often look inviting. Tucked away further up the hillside is the quiet Tomisaki-jinja shrine. We noted it as we drove by for a small display of dolls sitting at the base of the main gate by the roadside. 

(Hina display at Tomisaki-jinja shrine above Hebara Beach.)

Sandy underfoot and echoing with the sound of the sea breeze and crashing waves the precincts of Tomisaki-jinja and the displays of Hina dolls peeking out from the shadows of the simple main hall proved to be our favorite find of the festival.     

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