March 3rd is Hina-matsuri, also known as Girls' Day, in Japan. The holiday is celebrated by setting up multi-tiered platforms on which are seated elaborately dressed dolls representing the ancient emperor and empress and their court, accompanied by exquisite lacquer miniature furniture and accessories. These traditional dolls are called hina-ningyo. This beautifully modeled and dressed doll is known as a sosaku-ningyo (art doll). Beginning in the 1920s, some younger Japanese doll artists moved away from traditional Japanese dolls. Although the artists used traditional doll-making methods and materials, like gofun and silk, they created art dolls that strove to be more natural and life-like. This graceful geisha is 4.5 inches tall and comes dressed in her original silk kimono. Although her arms are slightly jointed (perhaps to aid in dressing her), the rest of her body is a single piece. She is also anatomically correct.
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