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At the concourse at Mitsukoshimae Station, a reproduction of the picture scroll "Kidai Shoran" depicting the streets of the main street from Nihonbashi to Kanda and Imagawa Bridge in 1805 (the era of Ienari Tokugawa) is displayed, where you can see the state of Hinaichi during the Edo period.
(For more information about Juken stores, please refer to the article "Hinamatsuri Enjoyed with Picture Scrolls and Street Trees" dated March 11, 2020.)

On the other hand, in the Kanto region, Iwatsuki Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, is famous as a production area for Hina doll.
The other day, I visited the ward for business, so I went a step further into the Hina doll during the Edo period.

I visited the Iwatsuki Doll Museum in Saitama City, which just opened in 2020.
Here, Uchiura chicks (estimated to be from the Taisho era to the early Showa era) donated by the Amano family, who had been running a booth dealer in Nihonbashi Yokoyama-cho since the late Edo period, are displayed.
Although the inner and inner chicks are similar to the current style of Hina doll, it is said that the sleeves reflect the trend of the Edo period.
I really want to see it up close.♪

I have enjoyed exhibitions in Hina doll in various cities so far, but I always care about the times and production areas.
To be honest, I didn't care about the donors or creators.
However, this time, when I was excited to see if I could get information about Chuo-ku from the perspective of a correspondent, I got interesting information about the Hina tools of the Amano family!

Many of the dolls of the Amano family are custom-made at Kuroeya, a long-established lacquerware shop in Nihonbashi, and the ones on display in the museum may be the same.
You used to sell dolls at Juken stores, but there were shops around them that supported the production of Hina doll.
Although photography was not possible inside the museum, the Amano family's Hina doll and Hina tools in the collection can be viewed at the exhibition "Amano Family's Hinamatsuri - Living in a Merchant with Dolls" commemorating the first anniversary of its opening.

Also, according to the exhibition panels at the museum, demand for Hina doll increased in Edo, and doll production began to be formed in villages in Musashi (Musashi Kuni) and Joshu (Uenokuni) beyond the ten houses and Owaricho in Nihonbashi.
The demand for Hina doll in Edo was also supported by villages near Edo.

In addition, I was able to learn about the achievements of Mitsuhiko Noguchi, a master of Hina doll born in Himotohashi-ku, Tokyo.
(About Mr. Noguchi: Tokyo Institute of Cultural Properties, "Mitsuhiko Noguchi, Japanese Art Yearbook Encyclopedia article" (Browse date 2022-03-01))

(In parks in Iwatsuki Ward, precautionary notes are also Hina doll specification.)

Every year at this time, Hina doll is full of things that are familiar but still unknown.
The most impressive thing this time was that Noh's songs and the five-member music, the musicians, were especially favored in Edo, and the three-member governmentwomen who work in the Imperial Palace were especially favored in Kyoto.
Considering the characteristics of each city, I think this preference is strangely understood.

Also, there is no rule on how to decorate Hina doll, and looking at illustrations of books drawn during the Edo period, it is said that several sets of inner and inner chicks are displayed on the hinadan.
The arrangement (especially the placement of male and female chicks) is thought to have been established, influenced by the coronation ceremony of Emperor Showa and the arrangement of Mikage.
And in the area where the tradition of "upper left and lower right" remains, male chicks are still displayed on the right and female chicks on the left.

How about it? The more you know the history and traditions related to Hina doll, the more interesting it is.♪
So how was Hina doll depicted in Kidai Shoran and Katsushika Hokusai's Ukiyo-e?
I would like to continue to study the culture of Edo and Nihonbashi in Hina doll.