1,000 Hina Dolls Displayed at Museum in Nagano; Event Marks Japan’s Traditional Doll Festival

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:50 JST, February 12, 2025

Six-hundred hina dolls appear together on a 30-tiered showcase that stands about 6 meters high at The World Folk Doll Museum in Suzaka, Nagano Prefecture. The spectacle is the highlight of the museum’s event for the annual Doll Festival, observed on March 3.

The Doll Festival is a tradition celebrating the healthy growth of girls. The museum began its Doll Festival event in 2007, with this year’s edition including about 1,000 hina dolls in all.  

“There are a wide variety of hina dolls from those produced in the Edo period to ones from the Heisei era,” said curator Daiki Gomi, 29. “People in wide generations from children to adults can enjoy looking at them.”

The exhibition lasts until May 18.