Kings and Queens

Konnichiwa - Hello!  For my Kings and Queens tag, I was inspired by Odairisama and Ohinasama, the traditional Japanese Emperor and Empress Hina dolls.  The latter are used during the Girls' Day celebration on March the 3rd, but elaborate displays which may include the emperors' court begin to appear after February the 4th.  It is believed that the dolls guard humans from bad things such as illness, so giving one to a girl means good wishes for health and happiness.  Red is considered a merry color, but it is combined with pink during this celebration due to the peach blossoms which appear at this time announcing the coming of Spring.  Food and various sweets, which may be made from peach, are an important part of this celebration.  After the holiday, the dolls must be stored away properly until the following year to avoid misfortune.  However, the original custom was to float the dolls down a river to remove bad things from humans.  This custom is still practiced in some regions, but has diminished due to the high cost of some of these Hina dolls.

I used a bookmark for my tag base, because a long rectangular panel form is often used in Japanese art.  I decorated the background with some bamboo print strips and punched flowers, which I enhanced with a micron pen.  I made my Hina doll forms using traditional origami folds, but added hand drawn faces to them and gave them their traditional accessories - a ritual sceptre for the Emperor and a fan for the Empress.  I finished my tag with an Asian character stamp and my last name written in Katakana characters, as well as a cord tie with beaded ends.

Although I've admired the Japanese culture ever since the Anglican Episcopal Bishop of Japan and his wife visited my father's diocese in Northern Mexico circa 1970, I am not an expert in this holiday.  Therefore, I read through a couple of articles before writing this post and found one by Shizu to be the most helpful.  Sayonara - Goodbye!