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The Arita Hinamatsuri Festival, featuring one of the world’s largest seven-tiered displays of porcelain “hina” dolls, is being held in Arita, Saga Prefecture, through March 12.

Hosted by the Arita Tourism Association, the 19th annual doll festival, which opened on Feb. 4, features pottery and local shopping streets decorated with dolls and hanging “sagemon” ornaments.

The festival is designed to promote Arita ware techniques and draw visitors during the winter season.

It attracted a record-low 18,000 visitors last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the association expects 25,000 sightseers this year.

The Saga Ceramics Research Laboratory and local potters joined hands to produce the seven-tiered display, which required three years to complete after production started in 2006.

Measuring 270 centimeters high, 182 cm wide and 338 cm deep, it is on display at Arita Sera, a shopping complex dedicated to Arita ware.

Dolls and other ornaments produced by Arita-based Kakiemon and Koransha potteries, as well as by the state-run Meissen Porcelain Manufactory in the German city of Meissen, are exhibited at the Arita-kan exchange facility.

Limited-time time lunches prepared with seasonal ingredients will be served at 21 eateries during the festival, while plates and other everyday accessories drawn with hina dolls are available at porcelain shops.

Visitors can also stroll around an area of the town wearing traditional kimono available for rental by reservation. The central government has designated the area an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

A free tour bus service has resumed operations this year, leaving JR Arita Station at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays for Arita-kan and Arita Sera.

For information, visit the association’s official website at (https://www.arita.jp/).

caption: This seven-tiered display of porcelain “hina” dolls is one of the world’s largest. (Provided by the Arita Tourism Association)

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