Late-Edo Period – Early Taisho Period
This is an ornament handed down from the Shirasaki family, wealthy merchants who were one of the so-called ‘Band of 36’, a group of powerful chartered merchant families in the town of Sakata during the Edo Period. The large tiered Hinadan stand, about 3.6 m wide and with eight platforms, features a wooden frame resembling the Hall for State Ceremonies (in Heian Palace, Kyoto Imperial Palace, etc.), lined with Dairi-bina Imperial Palace dolls, in front of which the cockfight, a court event on March 3rd, was held. Dairi-bina dolls were particularly popular in the late-Edo Period (1603-1868) and featured male dolls dressed up as if leaning a scepter over their mouths. Most of the Hina dolls are inspired by Noh (classical theater) and Kyōgen (comic relief after a spiritual and tragic drama) plays such as Shikisanban (‘the three ceremonial pieces’), Dōjō-ji (Tendai school Buddhist temple), Hachi no Ki (potted tree), Takasago, Hagoromo (the feather mantle), etc., as well as the seven gods of good fortune.