Cheers to Hina Dolls and Womanhood!

"Yamato Hina Dolls Festival" heralds the early spring of the castle town, Yamato-Koriyama City.

At about 130 places, hina dolls of each era, Heisei, Showa, Taisho, Meiji,
and much older ones are displayed.

On a warm, sunny day I walked around the historical street of the city

meeting with hina dolls rich in pageantry.

 - At the Machiya-monogatari building, former Kawamoto residence -

Yamato-Koriyama is home to "machiya," or merchant town houses
of which front features wooden lattices.

I peeped into the inside of the residence through the latticed window. 

Inside the house, various different hina dolls were displayed in each room.

The top photo of this post is tiers of hina dolls accompanied by the hanging-hina of gold fish.
Gold fish is the principal products of the city.

Dolls are in the bamboos or on the staircase with elaborate plans.

The three-story structure (1913) worked as a licensed red-light hall till 1958.

Looking up from the courtyard

- At the Hakomoto building -

This place is a traditional dye workshop Konya

located at the craftsman's quarter where indigo dyeing was thriving in the past.

Hanging-hina is made by hand using old kimono cloths.

Hanging-hina doesn't require the big space for the arrangement 

and child can play by touching it.

All these ornaments are handmade.

- At Suzuki residence-

This pair of dolls is from the era of Kyoho (1716-1736),

the oldest I met during my walks.
They feature longer, slender faces and long-slit narrow eyes
according to the times they were made.

The third of March is Hinamatsuri, Dolls Festival, or Girls Festival.

Here's a small party to pray for the healthy growth of the girls 

and to celebrate womanhood at home.

Linked to Mosaic Monday

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When I was going to post this post last week,  I was attacked by the sharp pains like electric shock around my left ear and back neck. At first a painkiller didn’t work at all. After careful examining, my doctor suspected it could be herpes zoster if red spots appear soon later or occipital neuralgia. It turned out to be the latter.  I think the cause would be long-term stiff shoulder, overly tight neck muscles. The pain has subsided gradually after three days of inexperienced intense electric-shot-like ones.  I've spent rested taking prescribed drugs including vitamin B12, heating my neck, doing stretch, and so on.  I'm getting better.

Thank you for your visit and reading this post. I’d like to return you as always, but I’ll avoid spending much time at this laptop for the time being.  Stay fit and healthy, my dear Friends.

Yoko

Lapis lazuli cosmic fantasy in Nara Park

Happiness Corridor Nara-Rurie is held about one week running up to Valentine’s Day 
at some popular sightseeing places throughout Nara Park.

It can be a good opportunity to go out during the coldest period of the year.

I went to Winter Tanabata Road at the Nara kasugano International Forum Iraka.

Ruri-colored lights are laid across its spacious garden. 

Visitors walk through the twinkling innumerable stars of the Milky Way on the ground.

"Ruri" is a lapis lazuli stone adored and valued by the ancient Nara people.

In Nara Park, visitors meet deer of course.

Corridor of Light connects front and back gardens.

White Ume (Prunus Mume) were already blooming dignified in the shivering cold.

Spring is getting closer.

To commemorate the 10^th anniversary of Nara Rurie, Sky Lantern took place.

Thousands of square lanterns made of Japanese paper, with a LED light and a helium balloon, 
floated in the air of Kasugano Field.

 Lanterns were held by people with strings.

Bottom - the lanterns that finished their work

Other sites of Nara Rurie are Nara National Museum, Todai-ji Temple,
and Kasuga Grand Shrine.

My old post about Nara Rurie 2016 includes Yume-kaze Square and Todai-ji Temple;

here.

Wish you all love and happiness!

Mosaic Monday

Reflections and patterns in winter

Here are some reflections and patterns I captured with my camera
during my walks in late January.

I like the moment when a pond comes alive suddenly with light,
mirroring the surrounding forest.

I like to see the reflection on the glass roof of a greenhouse.

Potted peonies are reflected

I like it when I see fantastic water wave patterns in the glare of the sun

through a telephoto lens.

I like to find something attractive in the winter pond. 
It was the reflection of the thatched roof of the Japanese architecture
and the azure sky. 

The front garden of the Isui-en

Other reflections from Isui-en 

I like it when pine needles are spread over the mosses artistically.

It enhances the elegance of the winter garden
and reminds us of the gentle cares by the gardeners.

Patterns made of pine needles

I like it when winter leaves pop out making patterns.
The backdrop was fresh mosses.

Mosses can thrive bright and fresh even in the frigid cold.

The pine-needle covers seem to protect them not from frost but from footsteps.

Leaf patterns with the backdrop of fresh mosses

What caught your heart during your walks recently?

Linked to Weekend Reflections

Mosaic Monday