My mother and I used to open boxes and display ornamental hina dolls on a window shelf at

our house, when Hina-Matsuri (literally means “young bird festival”), also known as “Dolls

Festival” or “Girls’ Festival” on March 3rd, was drawing near in about one month. It was a bit

troublesome work for me when I was little, but it is now a wonderful memory of Hina-

Matsuri.

I didn’t have a big set of gorgeous hina dolls on five to seven platforms, as you may often see in pictures, and I had

only a pair of the Emperor and Empress. But they were special to me because my mother took doll making classes and

made the dolls for me when I was born. She was a school teacher and very busy, so she could only make the two dolls.

I still keep the dolls at our home in Japan, which are as old as me. I don’t seem to have a chance to open the box and

display them to celebrate Hina-Matsuri this year since I am now living in Spokane.

Instead, however, I have a chance to display SO MANY dolls here at JCC. Because I had only the top two dolls, it was

fun and interesting to display all of the three court ladies, the five musicians, and the two ministers with so many little

beautiful ornaments surrounding them. They even have a carriage, a chest of drawers, a sewing kit box, and a chest of

utensils for the tea ceremony. The whole set presents life and people of imperial palace of old Japan. Let’s take a close

look at them and let me tell you more about the dolls, accessories, and the ornaments.

The Emperor and Empress are placed on the top platform. The

Emperor is holding a ritual baton and the Empress is holding a

beautiful fan. The second platform holds three court ladies. If you

look at them carefully, they are holding different things and they

have different roles. The lady on the right has a long-handle sake

pot, and the lady on the left has another type of sake pot, so that

she will pour some

sake into the pot on

the left when more

sake is needed. The

lady in the middle is seated and holding a sake cup on a tray. Isn’t it

very curious to know that these three ladies are all taking care of serving

sake? They seem to be expected to serve sake to make the dinner time

more lively and enjoyable.

The five men on the third platform play music and entertain the Emperor and Empress. The man on the right is a

singer. He doesn’t hold any musical instrument but a fan. The

second from the right is a flutist. The man in the middle is hold-

ing a tsuzumi, a type of drum, on his shoulder. The musician next

to him is holding a bigger tsuzumi in his left hand. This kind of

drum is tapped with finger tips. So they don’t need drum sticks.

The other musician on the far left is holding a drum with two

sticks. Can you imagine what kind of music they play for the

Emperor and Empress? It must be celestial and divine, but may be a little mysterious and too slow for contemporary

music lovers.

(Continued on page 2)

Volume XXII Number 2 Japanese Cultural Center Newsletter February 2013

日本文化センターニュース

Hina Dolls

By Yoshiko Murahata, JCC Director, MFWI

There are still five more men if the doll set is full. Two of them are

usually said to be “two ministers” but they are actually guards,

because they are carrying a bow and arrows in their hands. One is

young and the other is quite old with white beard. Judging from

their clothing, they are in quite high ranks. The last three men are

attendants. Each of them is holding, from the left, a covered straw cap, shoes, and a sunshade for the Emperor. They

are attending him in case the weather changes suddenly. It is interesting to see that they are in much simpler clothing.

With these dolls, you can see ornaments such as paper lanterns, peach flowers, and a Japanese citrus tree. Peach flow-

ers bloom at this time in spring and are believed to have a magical power to protect you against evil influences. The

fruits of the Japanese citrus tree are not edible because they are too sour, but the tree has been favored since ancient

times because of its evergreen leaves and its refreshing fragrance. Now we understand why these flowers and the tree

are placed beside the dolls.

Looking at the Hina dolls and ornaments around them, I feel how my mother wished me my happiness, good health,

and all of the luck in my life and made the dolls for me. Thanks to her wishes, I am now working as Director of JCC,

happy and healthy, surrounded by my beloved family and many warm-hearted people in Spokane. How lucky I am!

(Continued from page 1)

This set of dolls was made by

Beishu Hara, a famous doll

maker and is one of the Na-

tional Invisible Cultural As-

sets of Japan. He is an expert

of the gofun which is a tech-

nique of forming doll’s skin.

It is a process of combining

the many layers of powdered

shell that form the doll’s skin.

This beautiful doll set was

donated by Yoko Iwamoto

from Tokyo in 1992. She is a

graduate of the Mukogawa

High School in Japan.

Cross Cultural Understanding:

Teaching Japanese as a Second Language

Free Special Lecture by Professor Kazuko Ueda

Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya, Japan

7:00-8:30pm

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

JCC @ MFWI, 4000 West Randolph Rd., Spokane WA 99224

328-2971 or email jcc@mfwi.edu for more information!

My Life in Ikebana

By Ellen Krehbiel, Ikebana Instructor

As an Air Force wife I had many opportunities to experience different

cultures. Every where my husband was stationed, I always tried to experience a

local activity. Arriving at Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan, in the spring of 1982, I

quickly gravitated toward classes at the USO

on base. I started Sumi-e and Ikebana classes.

After about 1 ½ years I decided that I wanted to become

very proficient at one of these arts. Since I love to garden I

chose Ikebana and stopped the Sumi-e.

In my quest to become certified as a Sensei in the Sensho Ikenobo flower

school I would take four lessons a week during the school year and seven

of more in the summer. I learned my teaching certification in the spring of

1986. Back in Spokane in the summer of 1986, I did a one woman show at the Pottery Place featuring containers made

by local potters who were members there. The publicity of this show led to the formation of our Ikebana International

Spokane Chapter #230. Niki Hurley, Sogetsu Sensei, and Lee McLeron, Saga Goryu Sensei and their students joined

with my students and the chapter was formed.

I taught classes from 1987-1993 at the Corbin Arts Center and through Spokane Parks and Recreation. In the late

1990’s I taught Ikebana classes at the Gilded Lily Florist for about two years. I have also offered classes at my school

during that period.

Our I.I. Chapter has staged two or more Ikebana Shows yearly

at some of these locations: Corbin Arts Center, Festival of Flow-

ers, Garden Clubs’ Convention, Spokane International Fair, Japan

Week celebrations, Manito Garden Center, and various art shows.

I have been the exhibit chair for most of our shows.

In addition I have been the guest speaker/demonstrator at many

garden clubs around the area. I was hired to be the guest designer

in the spring of 2010 at the Pacific Region Garden Clubs’ Conven-

tion held here in Spokane.

Sharing my passion for Ikebana has been a theme in my life

ever since I experienced my first taste at the USO. Ikebana is truly

an art form as well as spiritual experience.

Japanese Cooking

Class

11am—1pm at JCC on March 17th

Japanese cooking by Ryuhei Tanaka, Chef at Bonsai in Coeur

d’Alene. He will teach how to make Japanese foods using materials

found around Spokane like miso, tempura, noodles, and sushi.

$25/ person. Maximum 15 people.

Call JCC to sign up and reserve! (509) 328-2971

JAPANESE CULTURAL CENTER @ MFWI

Yoshiko Murahata, Director Candie Coker, Admin. Assistant

4000 W Randolph Rd, Spokane, WA, 99224

(509) 328-2971 email: JCC@mfwi.edu www.mfwi.edu/JCC/

Don’t forget!

Ikebana Classes

Monday 5-6pm at JCC Starting March 4!

We still have spaces open, call to reserve

your spot! Instructor: Ellen Krehbiel

Open House

in the Tea Room

March 12 & 19

3-4pm & 4-5pm

Reservation Required, Limited Space

We enjoy making Usucha (Japanese

powdered green tea) and drinking it

with Japanese sweets.