Learn about Hinamatsuri and its origins
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Peter: Stop by our website japanesepod101.com for all the latest and greatest features, line by line audio, iPod on the go plus much more. Stop by and see what’s going on at japanesepod101.com. |
| Sakura: おはよう、東京。第八回、日本文化レッスンでございます。さくらです。 |
| Hatsumi: はつみです。 |
| Peter: Peter here and we are back with another edition of Japanese culture class. As always, we are brought to you by Erklaren, the translation and interpretation specialists. Okay here with me in the studio is, to my right |
| Sakura: さくらです。 |
| Peter: That’s my left. |
| Sakura: Sorry. |
| Peter: It’s a joke. |
| Sakura: Okay. |
| Peter: Okay one more time. To my right is |
| Sakura: さくらです。 |
| Peter: To the left |
| Hatsumi: はつみです。 |
| Sakura: Wow! |
| Peter: あ、両手に花。 |
| Sakura: Flowers on both sides. |
| Peter: Roses Sakura. |
| Sakura: Oh! |
| Peter: Roses. |
| Sakura: But cherry だよ。桜は。 |
| Peter: Oh boy! We started already. |
| Sakura: Anyway. |
| Peter: Okay let’s just go back to that very smooth expression I just used. Ah flashbacks of the single days. Okay what is this expression Sakura? |
| Sakura: 両手に花。 両手 Both hands 花 |
| Hatsumi: flowers. |
| Peter: Okay. Can you break this down? |
| Sakura: りょうてにはな |
| Peter: And one time fast |
| Sakura: 両手に花 |
| Peter: Flowers on both sides. |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter: And again, this is very useful. |
| Sakura: Is it? |
| Peter: I don’t know. |
| Sakura: Like we don’t use it. Like we girls don’t use it. Just like men. Right because when they have girls on both sides, you say that. |
| Peter: What can you say if you have guys on both sides? Sakura will make a new Japanese expression. |
| Sakura: Oh no! |
| Peter: New exclusive. |
| Sakura: You make it harder for me every day. うーん。両手に狼？ |
| Peter: On both sides |
| Sakura: 狼 |
| Peter: And what is this? |
| Sakura: Wolves. |
| Peter: Woo… |
| Sakura: This is not used. We just you know, made it up here. |
| Peter: No. Okay a japanesepod101.com exclusive expression soon to be listed in the idiom dictionary. Give it to us one more time Sakura? |
| Sakura: 両手に狼 |
| Peter: On both sides. |
| Sakura: Wolves. |
| Peter: Give it to us one time fast. |
| Sakura: 狼 |
| Peter: Did we break it down? |
| Sakura: No. |
| Peter: Break it down. |
| Sakura: おおかみ |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Sakura: 狼 |
| Peter: Yes I think there is many people out there who would agree with you Sakura. Okay, oh boy! We better get back on track. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: What did we want to talk about? |
| Sakura: Okay you mentioned flowers right? |
| Peter: Yes, yes. |
| Sakura: And there is an event related to flower coming soon right? |
| Peter: What’s the event? |
| Sakura: 桃の節句 |
| Peter: And what’s this? |
| Sakura: Peach festival. |
| Peter: Peach festival. |
| Sakura: Okay 桃 is peach, so peach festival. |
| Peter: Okay peach festival. |
| Sakura: 桃 |
| Peter: What is this Sakura? |
| Sakura: Well and the more popular name is ひな祭り and its Dolls festival celebrating or praying for the good health of girls. |
| Peter: And this is held every year on which day? |
| Sakura: March 3rd. |
| Peter: March 3rd. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Let’s jump back to the first phrase you gave us. What was that phrase? |
| Sakura: 桃の節句 |
| Peter: Okay and this is the peach festival. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: And this is because going by the old lunar calendar, this was the season that |
| Sakura: Peach blossom |
| Peter: Blooms. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Right because now-a-days, I don’t see too many peaches around this point in time. |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter: Okay so please continue Sakura. |
| Sakura: ひな祭り |
| Peter: Dolls festival. What was their another name that sometimes it goes by? |
| Sakura: Girls festival. |
| Peter: Yes. We are going to use this name from here on out. How does that sound Sakura? |
| Sakura: Umm okay. |
| Peter: Okay Sakura, can you give us this name one more time. |
| Sakura: ひな祭り |
| Peter: Break it down. |
| Sakura: ひなまつり |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Sakura: ひな祭り |
| Peter: And ひな is what? |
| Sakura: Doll. |
| Peter: And 祭り is |
| Sakura: Festival. |
| Peter: So there it is. A combination of two words, doll festival. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: So Sakura, can you tell us a little more about this. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Don’t sound too enthusiastic. |
| Sakura: No. |
| Peter: So Sakura, can you tell us a little something about this? |
| Sakura: Okay. |
| Peter: Yes that’s how we like to hear. |
| Sakura: Okay and so this is girl’s festival and… |
| Peter: Uuuu… |
| Sakura: You have boy’s festival as well in May. |
| Peter: Yes. |
| Sakura: So wait! Okay in March, we have girl’s festival. When a baby girl is born in a family, usually grandparents give that little girl 雛人形 doll set. |
| Peter: A doll set. |
| Sakura: And these dolls are supposed to protect that girl from evil spirits and illness and bad luck. |
| Peter: Wow! |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Sakura, do you have a set? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: And Hatsumi do you have a set? |
| Sakura: Sure. |
| Peter: Sure, wow! Now you said, dolls set right? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: How many dolls are in this set? |
| Sakura: It varies from two to many. |
| Peter: Wow! Very broad. |
| Sakura: Umm… |
| Peter: Yes we should mention that the dolls vary in price. Some of these sets can cost over $10,000. |
| Sakura: Right, it varies yes. |
| Peter: This weekend, we are going to have Sakura’s collection estimate. |
| Sakura: Okay. |
| Peter: Okay. Can you tell us about the dolls inside the set? |
| Sakura: Yes the main two are the emperor which is おびな or お内裏様. |
| Peter: What was that one more time? |
| Sakura: おびな or お内裏様 |
| Peter: And that’s the emperor. |
| Sakura: The emperor and the other one is the emperors which is めびな or お雛様 |
| Peter: Ah wait! The name of this is ひな祭り right? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: お雛様 is the empress. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: A nice way for you to remember. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: The holiday is, its girl’s day right? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: ひな祭り |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: And what was the empress again? |
| Sakura: お雛様 |
| Peter: お雛様 |
| Sakura: Yes お雛様 can also mean the whole thing as well but specifically it’s that empress. |
| Peter: Sakura, you ruined my great way to remember. |
| Sakura: I know, I am sorry. |
| Peter: Okay listen to Sakura, what do I know! Please Sakura, continue. |
| Sakura: Okay so these two are the crucial ones. So if the house is small, they have this two people set, the emperor and the empress okay and a larger ones have 三人官女 three court ladies and they are carrying 酒 or this tray with the food on. |
| Peter: Are they on the same level or a different level? |
| Sakura: Oh I forgot to mention this. 雛人形 the dolls are displayed on steps and the steps represents the level. |
| Peter: Yeah. So what were the highest ones? |
| Sakura: The emperor and the empress. |
| Peter: So where do they go? |
| Sakura: On the top. |
| Peter: Yes they got their own level. Then below them, we have |
| Sakura: 三人官女 Three court ladies and the next level, I have to mention this as well 五人囃子 which is five court musicians. They are playing flute or drums or other instruments. |
| Peter: Traditional Japanese drum. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Yes. Okay and the levels continue on, right? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: We just wanted to give you kind of an idea. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: And we are going to have some pictures up on the home page. |
| Sakura: Umm… |
| Peter: All right. So we have the doll sets and you place these doll sets out. When do we place them out? Do we place it out on that day or do we place it out two weeks in advance? How does this work? |
| Sakura: About two weeks in advance is the best. |
| Peter: The best. |
| Sakura: Yes. And it’s said that it’s better to display them early and put them away early. |
| Peter: This festival is on the 3rd. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: So when is the ideal time to put them away? |
| Sakura: Well maybe the next day or next weekend. |
| Peter: Ah! |
| Sakura: So not like you know, many weeks after that because then if you don’t, she is going to get married late. |
| Peter: I see. Yes this is one of the kind of superstitions. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Associated with this festival. If you don’t put the dolls away quickly, then |
| Sakura: She is going to be single for a long time before getting married. |
| Peter: Ah! |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Interesting. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Very interesting. Any other superstitions associated with it? |
| Sakura: Actually this festival comes from China originally and they had dolls that carried bad luck and evil spirits for you and you would throw them in the river and they will be carried away. So it will be gone. |
| Peter: Yeah they believe that you could transfer your bad luck and the evils and the spirits into this doll. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Then throw it into the river. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Be careful not to overshoot the river. Well and then they will be washed away. |
| Sakura: Right that was called 雛流し。 |
| Peter: One more time. |
| Sakura: 雛流し。 |
| Peter: Which means putting the dolls in the river. Actually direct translation would be doll and |
| Sakura: Flow. |
| Peter: Flow. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Which in English is into the river with the doll. |
| Sakura: Okay. |
| Peter: So that’s where the origins of this kind of come from and… |
| Sakura: And I heard that – and the dolls wear clothes from Heian period. |
| Peter: When was that, the Heian period? |
| Sakura: Heian period is about year 1000. |
| Peter: Wow! |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Very old clothes. |
| Sakura: Umm traditional. The empress doll wears 十二単 which is many layers of kimono and this is still worn in royal wedding. |
| Peter: Wow, still worn? |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Well, that’s a long tradition. |
| Sakura: Yeah it’s really heavy you know. And princess Masako wore it in her wedding in 1993. |
| Peter: Wow! That’s amazing. Please check our website. We are going to have some pictures about this up. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Very interesting. |
| Sakura: Yes I think it’s best to look at the picture, you can get the idea. |
| Peter: Yes okay so we covered a lot about this, about where it comes from. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Give you kind of general background. Now Sakura, on this day, what do we do? |
| Sakura: And we eat. |
| Peter: Very different from every other day. |
| Sakura: Well I will just mention another day… |
| Peter: We eat every day Sakura. |
| Sakura: I know. Okay I just want to mention just couple of things that we have on that day like 酒 called 白酒, its sweet Japanese 酒 and also we have… |
| Peter: Maybe stop one second. Slow down, so what was this name again one more time? |
| Sakura: 白酒 |
| Peter: Yes and this means white sake. |
| Sakura: Right. |
| Peter: And it’s very sweet. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Do you like it? |
| Sakura: Too sweet. |
| Peter: Too sweet. Okay. |
| Sakura: Yes this was 白酒 right? |
| Peter: 白酒. |
| Sakura: Yes. Also we have 菱餅 |
| Peter: 菱餅 |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: And what’s this? |
| Sakura: Okay the last part 餅 is rice cake. |
| Peter: Yes but some of you might have a hard time imagining this. It’s not hard, it’s very soft right? |
| Sakura: Yes, yes, yes. |
| Peter: So when we say rice cake, it’s kind of like very soft. |
| Sakura: Yes sticky. |
| Peter: Sticky. |
| Sakura: Umm… |
| Peter: Umm rice cake. |
| Sakura: Yes okay and 菱 is in diamond shape. |
| Peter: Kind of like a square turned on inside. |
| Sakura: Yes, yes and it is in three colors, layers of three colors. Green, white, pink and you display it in front of 雛人形 dolls. |
| Peter: Ah so you put that in front of it. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: And Sakura, you know these colors have meaning. The white color means purity, the green color means health and red or pink as you said wards off to evil. |
| Sakura: Uh wow! |
| Peter: Okay next we have. |
| Sakura: The one we usually eat, this is 雛あられ |
| Peter: And what’s that? |
| Sakura: It’s like rice – frosted rice crispies and they are in colors of pink, white and green as well. |
| Peter: Oh that’s good. |
| Sakura: It’s good. Yes it’s good. |
| Peter: I’ve never had them. |
| Sakura: Really? |
| Peter: Where can I – can I buy it at the store? |
| Sakura: Yes in any place, convenient store or department store, anywhere. Supermarket. |
| Peter: All right, I got something to do next Friday. |
| Sakura: Okay. |
| Peter: Okay next. |
| Sakura: And that’s about it. |
| Peter: That’s about it. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Now associated with this day is a song, right Sakura? |
| Sakura: Yes every Japanese person knows this. |
| Peter: Everybody knows this song. |
| Sakura: Yes. |
| Peter: Now what we are going to do is we are going to have Hatsumi and Sakura sing you this song. |
| Sakura: Yeay! |
| Peter: Okay. Here we go everybody. |
| Sakura: Okay. |
| Peter: And now ladies and gentleman, we have a special, special treat for you. |
| Sakura &Hatsumi: せーの。♪灯りをつけましょ ぼんぼりに。お花をあげましょ 桃の花。五人囃子の笛太鼓。今日は楽しいひな祭り♪ |
| Peter: Wow! |
| Sakura: Okay you can find out about this song on the web page right? |
| Peter: I don’t know. We might have to start selling your albums from YouTube. |
| Sakura: No this is… |
| Peter: Wow! That was great. |
| Sakura: This is really popular. Yeah we learned it in childhood and everybody knows this. |
Outro |
| Peter: Very impressed, all right. That’s going to do for today. Wow! We are going to get this back and cut this up. I want to take this home and put it on my mp3 player on my iPod. |
| Sakura: いやいやいや。 |
| Peter: Thank you so much. Okay that’s going to do it. |
| Sakura: また明日ね。 |
| Hatsumi: 明日ね。 |
| Peter: See you tomorrow. Be sure to stop by japanesepod101.com and check out the premium learning center. Inside we have material to bring everything you learned in the lesson together. Flashcards, quizzes really consolidate what you learned in today’s lesson. Stop by, say hi and be sure to leave us a post. |
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