Faces of Hina Dolls

This poem was composed by poet Yosa Buson who has ties to Yosano Town. It is cited in the beginning of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s short novel “Hina”.
This poem has multiple interpretations. Since two pairs of male and female hina dolls were kept in a box all year long, perhaps they cannot recognize the faces of other hina dolls stored in the other boxes.　And since the dolls are only taken out of their boxes to be displayed once a year, the meaning could be interpreted as questioning whether or not you remember what these dolls look like after a year of storage. In this way it can be viewed humorously.
Every year during the Hina Meguri doll festival, homes along the Chirimen Road are decorated with hina dolls. As seen in the video, some homes also mix in older dolls. It is the dolls’ time of year; let’s hope the top hina dolls have the right partner…

Assisted by: Tanka and Haiku Museum
Yosano Municipal Kozan Bunko