Japanese dolls and Hinamatsuri
日本玩偶和女儿节
“Hinamatsuri (Doll’s Festival)” is held on March 3rd. This is a day to pray for young girl’s growth and happiness. It is also called “Momo no sekku (Peach Festival)” because of the peach blossom season on the old lunar calendar. May 5th is "Kodomo no hi (Children’s Day)"，and this is so called “Boy’s Festival”. While Children’s Day is a national holiday, Hinamatsuri is not.
3月3日是“女儿节(玩偶节)”。这一天是为年轻女孩成长和幸福祈福的日子。它也被称为“桃花节”，因为是桃花在旧阴历盛开的季节。5月5日是“儿童节”，也叫“男儿节”。虽然儿童节是一个国家法定假日，但女儿节不是。
Most families with girls display “hina-ningyo” (special dolls for Hinamatsuri) and dedicate peach blossoms to them. They are usually arranged on a five or seven-tiered stand covered with a red carpet.
大多数有女孩的家庭摆放“雏人形"（女儿节专用娃娃），为她们献上桃花。这些“雏人形”通常摆放在用红毯覆盖的有5层或7层的台上。
The practice of displaying these dolls on the third day of the third month on the traditional Japanese calendar began during the Edo period (1603-1868). It started as a way of warding off evil spirits, with the dolls acting as a charm. Even today, people in some parts of the country release paper dolls into rivers after the festival, praying that the dolls take people’s place in carrying away sickness and bad fortune.
在日本阳历3月3日那天摆放玩偶的传统始于江户时代 (1603-1868年）。它开始是作为一种避邪的方式,用玩偶做替身。即使在今天，日本一些地方在3月3日还会将纸人放进河里，祈求将人的疾病和厄运转到娃娃里带走。
The dolls wear costumes of the imperial court during the Heian period (794-1192) and are placed on a tiered platform covered with red felt. The size of the dolls and number of steps vary, but usually the displays are of five or seven layers; single-tiered decorations with one male and one female doll are also common.
娃娃穿着平安时代（794-1192年）的宫廷服装,摆放在用红毡覆盖的一个多层台上。娃娃的大小和摆放的层数各不相同，但通常会摆在5层或7层,单用一男一女两个娃娃装饰也很普遍。
The Kanto region and Kansai region have different placement orders of the dolls from left to right, but the orders of dolls per level are the same.
关东地区和关西地区摆放玩偶的左右顺序有所不同，但每层摆放什么玩偶的顺序是相同的。
The top tier holds two dolls, known as imperial, dolls representing the Emperor and Empress. The traditional arrangement had the male on the right, while modem arrangements had him on the left (from the viewer’s perspective).
顶层摆放的是代表天皇和皇后的皇家玩偶。传统上将男性摆在右边，但现代将其摆在左边(从观众的角度)。
The dolls are usually placed in front of a gold folding screen.
玩偶通常放置在一个金屏风前。
The second tier holds three court ladies. Each holds a sake equipment.
第二层摆放3个宫女。每人各执一种酒器。
The third tier holds five male musicians. Each holds a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan.
第三层是5个男性乐手。除了手持扇子的歌手外,每个都持有一种乐器。
Two ministers may be displayed on the fourth tier: the Minister of the Right and the Minister of the Left. The Minister of the Right is depicted as a young person, while the Minister of the Left is much older. Also, because the dolls are placed in positions relative to each other, the Minister of the Right will be on the viewer’s left and the Minister of the Left will be on the viewer’s right. Both are sometimes equipped with bows and arrows.
第四层可能摆放2个大臣：右大臣和左大臣。右大臣是个年轻人，而左大臣却老得多了。此外，由于玩偶的摆放位置彼此相关，从观众的角度看,右大臣在左边,左大臣在右边.有时二人都配备了弓箭。
The fifth tier, between the plants, holds three helpers or samurai as the protectors of the emperor and empress.
3个仆人或保护天皇和皇后的武士摆在第五层的植物间。
On the sixth and seventh tiers, a variety of miniature furniture, tools, carriages, etc. are displayed.
在第六和第七层摆放着各种小家具、工具和牛车等。
A traditional set of dolls can be very expensive. There are various grades for the sets, and some full sets cost more than a million yen. Unless there is a set handed down from generation to generation, grandparents or parents buy them for a girl by her first Hinamatsuri. However, since many Japanese live in small houses, royal couple version (with only the Emperor and the Empress dolls) is popular nowadays.
一套传统的玩偶可能很贵。不同套装有不同的层数,有些全套价值在100万日元以上。除非是家里有代代相传的一套，祖父母或父母会在女孩的第一个女儿节时为她买一套。然而,由于许多日本人住在小房子里,王室夫妇版(只有天皇和皇后玩偶)是现在最流行的。
There is a superstition that if you don’t put away the hina-ningyo soon after March 3rd, the daughter will get married late. Hence，most families take their beautiful collection of dolls out of the closet around mid-February and put it away again as soon as Hina Matsuri is over.
有一种迷信说，如果你不在3月3日后立即收起雏人形,女儿结婚会很晚。因此大多数家庭在2 月中旬拿出珍藏在橱柜里的人偶,并在女儿节结束时立即收起。