Traditionally in Japan, the third day of the third month was Girls' Day while the fifth day of the fifth month was Boys' Day. May 5th is now a Japanese national holiday known as Children's Day. The traditional Girls' Day is now referred to as Hina Matsuri, or the Japanese Doll Festival.
On this day, girls or families display their doll collection of the royal household. The two most important dolls, or hina ningyo, are the Emperor and the Empress. In a tiered collection the Emperor and Empress occupy the top shelf with the Emperor on the left and the Empress on the right. The dolls are put on display up to two weeks prior to March 3rd, and should be taken down within three days after March 3rd.
The Emperor and Empress displayed here
were designed by Megumi Biddle and folded by Linda Freeman. 