Musician Hina Dolls
Meiji Period
21-28 cm high x 21-26 cm wide
Cat. 131610, 131611, 131612, 131613, 131614
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Edwin Gillette
© The Field Museum

A set of five musicians is part of what is commonly considered a complete set of hina dolls. They would make up the third tier on display for Hina Matsuri, the doll festival held every year on Girl's Day, March 3rd, below the dairi-bina prince and lady and the three ladies in waiting. The five musicians hold instruments which were used for court concerts in the Heian period: a taiko floor drum, two tsuzumi hand drums, and a fue flute, the fifth musician being the chanter, holding instead a fan.

The musicians in set wear matching or coordinating clothing. These five wear multicolored brocade hitatare of white, green, red, pink, purple, and yellow. The hitatare is a two piece formal costume commonly worn by samurai in the Muromachi (1333-1573 AD) and Edo (1603-1868) periods, developed from the costume of commoners in the Heian period (794-1192). These five wear several layers of kimono underneath, of dark brocade and white. The three drummers wear the top of their hitatare around the waist, an accepted style for athletic events such as martial arts and, apparently, playing drums. The drummer playing the ko-tsuzumi, or small tsuzumi, wears a tate-eboshi hat, while the other four wear funagata-eboshi hats, a style of hat worn in the Edo period. Instruments are made of wood and lacquered paper with silk cord accents. These dolls are made in the toso technique, a sawdust molding technique, and covered with coats of gofun, made of crushed seashells. Evidence of the toso technique can be seen on the face of the ko-tsuzumi player, whose gofun has cracked and broken, revealing the core underneath. While such breaks are very unfortunate, it can be interesting as well as it shows the construction underneath, which otherwise could not be seen. The hair is made of silk strands inserted into the head, both silk and human hair being popular hair materials.

This set of dolls was kept as part of a set with the dairi bina 131606 and 131607, the third pair on this site, right before this set of musicians.


(Commentary by Helena Stenberg)

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