Rare Hinakazari Artifacts Unearthed in UK Just in Time for Hinamatsuri
UK. FEBRUARY 2025. A rare set of Hinakazari pieces, used for the Japanese religious festival of Hinamatsuri (Dolls Day) every year on March 3rd, has been discovered in the attic of a hunting lodge in Hampshire, UK. The Japanese tradition of placing decorations and dolls in a formal display on this date is to symbolize the healthy growth and happiness of girls. This particular set of Hinakazari was thought to have been purchased in East Asia at the turn of the 19th century. It was found packed away in one of two old lacquer travelling trunks, traditionally used for storing kimonos with the current owners having no idea what they were.
Commenting on the discovery and the rarity of this set, Alexandra Aguilar, Asian & Japanese Art specialist at Woolley & Wallis, said: “The discovery of this rare set of Hinakazari pieces is very exciting, especially as the current owners had no idea what they were, as the trunk had been sitting in the attic of the house for an unknown period of time. This set is particularly rare, due to its exceptional quality and also because it includes hundreds of miniature pieces, which is rarely seen in Western Europe.”
Hinamatsuri (Dolls Day) began in Japan in 1687 and the custom every year is to display seated male and female dolls, originally representing the Japanese Emperor and Empress, on a tiered stand, to promote values of health and good fortune for young girls. More elaborate displays include a multi-tiered stand, with up to fifteen dolls representing ladies of the court, musicians and other attendants.
Japanese families usually ensure that girls and women have a set of the two main dolls before their first Hinamatsuri (Doll’s Day), but the dolls can be costly, so are often handed down from older generations. The Hinakazari spends most of the year in storage and girls, or women and their mothers begin setting up the display a few days before the 3rd March each year.
The pieces in this set are decorated in gold hiramaki-e lacquer on a black roiro ground, painted with leafy scrolls and stylised flowers. The set includes various pieces of furniture, such as a variety of chests, shodana (shelves) and other tansu (cabinets), one enclosing a collection of miniature books inscribed with calligraphy, a norimono (palanquin) with bamboo blinds, elaborately painted to the interior, paper lanterns, a toilet set, bundai (writing tables), several suzuribako (writing boxes), fubako (document boxes) and many others.
The set has been given a conservative estimate of £1,000-£2,000 however, due to its rarity and quality it is expected to achieve much more. It will be offered in Woolley & Wallis Asian Art sales on May 20th & 21st, 2025.
