[ MAUKA MAKAI ]
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
An empress, front, and emperor doll are part of the Tsuji family collection.Dolls reflect Marian Tsuji made her first trip to Japan at the age of 4. This was the first time she met her grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins left behind when her family immigrated to New York years earlier. The best part of the visit, she remembers, was Hina Matsuri.
special qualities
in girls
An exhibit features rare
vintage Japanese hina dollsNancy Arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.com
"My paternal grandfather (Ryukichi Tsuji) had a fascination with and collected hina dolls," she said. "These dolls were nothing like the Little Kiddies and Barbie dolls I played with in New York. They were royalty, robed in silk, and adorned with miniature instruments and other implements."
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Elaborate displays appear in the homes of families with daughters, and friends and relatives pay their respects to the diminutive dolls. "I remember it being a very special time," Marian Tsuji said. "All of my cousins were girls and I kept thinking, This is all for us."
Tsuji's mother, Miyoko Tsuji, recalled extravagant, multicourse miniature meals with the dolls that were served on miniature dishes.
"We would gather at different people's houses throughout the day to visit the dolls," Miyoko said.
"We became a part of the dolls," added Keizaburo Tsuji, Marian's father. Keizaburo and Miyoko traveled from New York for the opening of the exhibition. Other family members came in from Japan.
Last year, Honolulu Academy of Arts Director George Ellis, who retired in February, traveled to Akita, Japan, to accept Ryukichi Tsuji's rare doll collection as a gift. The family presented more than 100 hina dolls to the academy in celebration of its 75th anniversary.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Miyoko, Keizaburo and Marian Tsuji, from left, pose with two of Keizaburo'sfavorite pieces, two rare mechanical dolls.
The dolls are being featured in the "Rare Japanese Dolls from the Tsuji Family Collection" exhibition at the academy through March 23. The dolls are dated from the later part of the Edo period to early Meiji period.
"Most of the dolls are 150 to 200 years old," Keizaburo said. Ryukichi collected the dolls before World War II, and it had always been his wish to donate his doll collection to a museum one day.
"My father bought most of the dolls in not-so-perfect condition," Keizaburo said. Damaged dolls were sent to a master craftsman for restoration. "The craftsman would add his seal and the date on the box cover along with the age of the doll."
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Another piece that Keizaburo fondly remembers -- a doll that demonstrates on "casting down the devil."
A typical set of dolls is displayed on a storied terrace, with the emperor and empress on the top terrace, court ladies, five musicians and tiny accessories such as a dresser, a chest, an ox carriage and miniature mochi or rice cakes. Peach blossoms are usually among the decorations because they represent feminine characteristics of softness, mildness and peacefulness and also symbolize marital happiness.
On view: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays through March 23 'Rare Japanese Dolls
from the
Tsuji Family Collection'Place: Honolulu Academy of Arts
Admission: $7 general; $4 seniors, students, military; children 12 and under free
Call: 532-8700
The Academy Shop is offering a set of one-of-a-kind hina dolls made during the 1950s by Shogyoku at the Fukusuzu Factory. The price is $2,000. Included are the emperor and empress, three court ladies, prime minister, counselor, five musicians and three servants. Accessories include a screen lamps, dinner set, tea set, braziers, sewing box, dresser, chest, trays and flower blossoms. Only one set is available. Call the academy at 532-8700. Vintage dolls for sale
"My dad did not stick to that formality," Keizaburo said. Among Keizaburo's favorites are the old mechanical dolls and a group of dolls that represent the act of "casting down the devil."
"We only celebrated Girl's Day; the boys were ignored," chuckled Keizaburo, who has only one sister.
"Hina" means "little princess." When a girl is born to a Japanese family, her parents or grandparents buy a set of dolls for her first Hina Matsuri. This set is then displayed each year on Girl's Day. Hina Matsuri, also known as the Doll Festival, is celebrated to bring happiness and good health to their daughters.
The festival originated in China, where it was celebrated on March 1, when paper dolls were tossed into rivers to get rid of impurities. In Japan, paper or clay dolls are still tossed into the river or floated with lights. Families observe the festival to encourage holiness, loyalty and ancestor worship. Most of all, the festival is an expression of love, pride and joy in daughters.
The hina set is displayed usually only for a month, then immediately stored. It's said that a display left out too long means the girl will get married late, Miyoko said.
IN JAPAN the date of the festival changed to March 3 during the Edo period, when the emperor's wife held a doll festival for her daughter, and the dolls have become heirlooms passed down from generation to generation. The first daughter shares the dolls with her sisters.
Created by master craftsmen, hina dolls have lustrous, porcelain faces and hands made of ground oyster shell and plaster. The textiles used to make costumes are specially woven and scaled to size. The dolls also have elaborate accessories.
"I felt special," Marian said. "I always thought that American girls didn't get a day to be celebrated."
But, after her trip to Japan, there were no more Hina Matsuri celebrations. Japanese culture didn't exist in New York of the '60s, '70s and '80s, she explained. "We were one of the few Asian families living there at the time."
This past spring, Marian saw the dolls at her grandfather's house one last time. "I opened each box and unwrapped each doll with the awe of that same 4-year-old," she said. "Even as an adult, I love to look at all of the dolls, see the expressions on their faces."
She said it is important for contemporary women, under pressure from work and family, to make time for themselves to reflect on their own health and happiness. Strength and leadership emerge only when physical and mental health and happiness are in balance, she explained. "Girl's Day is a great ritual to remind us to take care for the girl inside each of us."
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A mechanical doll that plays a drum, part of an exhibit at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, "Rare Japanese Dolls from the Tsuji Family Collection." on the cover
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