Mochigase Nagashibina: Paper Dolls Floated Downriver

Mochigase is a small valley town in the southern part of Tottori City, strung along the Chiyo River. Once a year, on the third day of the third month of the old lunar calendar, it holds Nagashibina, a doll floating rite. Children in formal dress set straw trays carrying a pair of small paper dolls onto the current, praying for good health and growth. The custom has been handed down without a break since the Edo period. Tottori Prefecture designated it an intangible folk cultural property in 1985, and in 2021 the national government selected it as one requiring documentation.

A Procession of Dolls on the Chiyo River

The rite takes place along the gentle shallows of the Chiyo River beside the Nagashibina no Yakata, the town's doll museum. In earlier times each household went down to the river separately at dusk; today the whole community gathers at a set time in the afternoon.

Children hold the tray in both hands, kneel at the bank and lower it onto the water. As they let go, the tray turns, catches the current and drifts downstream, the peach blossom and rice cakes on board swaying. The water is still cold, but the bank smells of peach blossom and hums with voices. One by one the dolls form a line on the water, and people watch until the last disappears into the glittering shallows.

Clay Heads, White Pigment and Red Paper Robes

The dolls are simple and handmade. Each head is made by rolling clay, coating it with gofun, a white shell pigment, and painting on the hair and face. The figures are dressed in paper robes patterned with red plum blossom crests, the male doll given gold trousers and the female doll a gold sash.

The pair is placed on a sandawara, the round straw lid once used to close a rice bale, and sent off with peach blossom, seasonal flowers and sweets such as hishimochi and oiri. Records show the straw tray was not universal at first: many families used empty sweet boxes, and the present form spread from the 1960s as the custom drew national attention.

The Joshi Festival and Hina Arashi

The origins of Nagashibina lie in the doll floating of the Joshi festival of the Heian period, a purification rite in which impurities and misfortunes were transferred to a figure and washed away by water. During the Edo period this merged with the doll festival to produce the ceremony seen today. In Mochigase the tradition has continued unbroken, looked after by the Mochigase Folklore Preservation Society.

Prayers are traditionally for good health and for children to grow up well, and in recent years also for success in examinations. Until around the late 1950s there was also a custom called hina arashi, in which neighbourhood children and relatives were invited in to eat the offerings from the doll display before heading down to the river at dusk.

Tips for Visiting

Because the date follows the lunar calendar it shifts between late March and mid April, so check before making plans. The bank is uneven underfoot and the crowd packs into a narrow stretch of shore, so families with small children should watch from a little back. On the day, private houses around the town open their doll displays to the public, and the Nagashibina no Yakata hosts a reading of essays about hina dolls. This is mountain country, and it cools sharply once the sun drops behind the ridges.

Getting There

The venue is about a five minute walk from Mochigase Station on the JR Inbi Line, which runs south from Tottori Station. Parking is available, but visitors concentrate in the small town centre on the day, so arriving early is wise.

Practical Information

• Dates: the third day of the third month of the old lunar calendar, falling between late March and mid April
• Venue: the Chiyo River bank around Nagashibina no Yakata, Beppu, Mochigase cho, Tottori City
• Enquiries: Mochigase Nagashibina no Yakata, tel. 0858-87-3222
• Access: about 5 minutes on foot from Mochigase Station on the JR Inbi Line
• Parking: available
• Cultural designation: Tottori Prefecture intangible folk cultural property (1985); selected as a national intangible folk cultural property requiring documentation (2021)
• Official website: https://www.city.tottori.lg.jp/site/nagashibina/

* Dates, details and prices are subject to change. Please check the official website before you go.

(Sources: Tottori City official website, Tottori City tourism official website, Agency for Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Online)