Samurai dolls” for Dragon Boat Festival. When did they come to be displayed?（Musyaningyo)
Children’s Day (national holiday; May 5th)Boy’s Day celebration (May 5th)
A generic name for dolls with heroic figures displayed on Dragon Boat Festival. The custom of decorating dolls took root in the mid-Edo period, when doll making began to flourish. The dolls are modeled after Emperor Jinmu, the first emperor of Japan; Ushiwakamaru and Benkei, two military commanders dressed as generals; the heroes of old tales such as Kintaro and Momotaro; and Shoki, a Chinese god of war who protects children from plague and disease. The dolls were decorated with the hope that the heroes and heroic figures known to everyone would protect the children and that they would become such strong people. Before the Meiji period, dolls with adult faces were the norm, but recently the number of warrior dolls with cute children’s faces has been increasing.
