The day is finally upon us: my firstborn, my daughter, is now an adult and looking toward college. Ever since she was a tiny baby, we have celebrated the Japanese festival of Girls Day or Hinamatsuri (ひな祭り) yearly on March 3rd. Her grandparents (my in-laws) brought this doll set from Japan 18 years ago.¹ I did my research and figured out how to assemble it, and have been doing it every year since.

My daughter is an adult this year, and so she isn’t really a little girl anymore. Thus, in a sense the tradition comes to and end. We discussed it, and we will probably keep celebrating anyway until she is married,² but it still feels like a threshold has been crossed.

Of course, it all feels a little bittersweet. Our daughter is happy, healthy and looking forward to the next chapter in her life. We, her parents, of course will miss her. And we’re looking forward to grandkids someday.

Perhaps in time I will be assembling the dolls for a future granddaughter, and my wife will keep making chirashi-zushi. Time will tell.

As for all the other ladies out there, happy Girls Day!! 🎎

¹ Normally, the doll set has up to 5 tiers, but as two elderly grandparents they could only bring the top tier and since they were only bringing one tier anyway, they splurged and got a nice set from Kyoto. Or, so I recall.

² in those days girls married far younger than they do now, so people probably didn’t celebrate this far along.

My son made this in Japanese preschool yesterday. This is the prince and bride depicted in the Japanese holiday of hinamatsuri (ひな祭り) or Girls Day. Girls Day happens every year on March 3rd.

We have the doll display setup already, and my wife is preparing a nice sashimi feast for my daughter. Looking forward to the weekend! 🙂