Takasago Kindergarten Celebrates Doll Festival

Children with Dolls

Every March 3 the children and teachers at Takasago Kindergarten celebrate Hina Matsuri, Japan's doll festival. The five Friendship Dolls living at Takasago come out to join in the fun with the children.

On March 3, 2004, the kindergarten held a special event called the "Doll Festival Tea Party with the Friendship Dolls." Special guests dressed in kimonos visited the kindergarten to show the children the tea ceremony, which included drinking tea and eating special Japanese snacks.

 
Two Girls Drinking Tea
 
 
The children had an opportunity to make their own hina dolls made of papier-mâché. The two dolls, representing the ancient emperor and empress of Japan, were painted with colorful kimonos. Their faces were an unnatural shade of orange, but the children were having so much fun they did not notice.

Setsu Matsushita, Takasago Kindergarten's Director, says, "Of course, Helen, Erika, and the kindergarten's other three Friendship Dolls were there. As the children drank their tea with serious faces, they were so cute."

Takasago's Friendship Dolls

In addition to the school's five Friendship Dolls, many other dolls came to the tea party. The teachers set up a seven-tier doll stand in the auditorium, and hina dolls sat and watched the children as they enjoyed the doll festival. Many other dolls owned by the kindergarten also came to have fun at the party.

Everyone at Takasago Kindergarten is looking forward to seeing Friendship Passport, an exciting and cute play about the history of the Friendship Dolls at Takasago Kindergarten. The play is scheduled for April 4, 2004.


Main Page | 1927 Doll Exchange | Japanese Friendship Dolls | American Blue-eyed Dolls
Mass Media / Books / Films | Letters
Other Friendship Doll Programs | Teachers' Corner
Links | Recent Changes | Acknowledgements
| Children's Page