| Brief Description |
This is a Gogatsu Ningyo doll which is used in a Tango-no-Sekku festival. The ceremonial Samurai doll is displayed with weapons, a plaque, two folding screens and a display cloth, all enclosed in a black lacquered box.
The Samurai doll (a) comes withwith two sets of weapons (ceremonial and scaled down) (b-c), two folding screens (di-dii), a wooden plaque, (e) a green cloth (f) and a black lacquered box (g).
(ai- axi) The doll has elaborate oyoroi (armour) consisting of kabuto (helmet), osode (shoulder plates), suneate (shin guards), and haitate (upper leg plates). It comes apart to fit into a box.
(bi-biii) The tachi (sword) (bi) is an elaborate, blunt, curved metal sword with a gold plastic dragon kabuto (pommel cap) and tsuba (guard). The sword has a gold plastic saya (sheath)(bii) and a gold sayajiri (scabbard tip). The sheath has red cotton saya-oti (scabbard wrap) and the handle has a tsuka-ito (handle wrap). The sword has a black painted wooden stand (biii) with an eagle attached to the base, standing on a ball with outstretched wings in gold plastic.This holds the scabbard tip.
(c) The yumiya (bow and arrow ) is an asymetrical weapon of painted black wood with red plastic wraps at intervals along the bow. The hilt is wrapped in floral cotton cloth and has a blue silk hood on top. The bowstring is a thin gold cord. At each side of the bow are two arrows with bamboo shafts, gold plastic points and fletching and ending in white plastic finials. All are fixed onto a black wooden stand with an eagle attached to base standing on a ball with outstretched wings in gold plastic.This holds the bottom of the bow.
(di-dii) The byobu are a pair of black lacquered folding screens with a painted gold mountain in relief on each panel and spray-painted clouds on the bottom. One screen (di) has a gold plastic plaque on bottom left corner with Japanese characters running vertically. All corners have etched brass corner protectors.
(e) A rectangular wooden plaque is varnished with 21 Japanese characters overpainted in gold. A small red Japanese character is painted onto the lower left corner. The back has a hinged piece of wood to enable the plaque to stand.
(f) A rectangular piece of green combed cotton has one short end edged in shiny brocade with a repeating pattern of irises and gold leaves.
(gi-gii) A black lacquered box has a fitted removable lid and six legs with five sides. Each leg has a brass cap engraved with leaves on four outer edges. All corners have etched brass corner protectors. The edge of the box has a protruding lip with brass corner protectors. The inside of the box is lined with patterned white paper.
In Japan, the traditional Tango-no-Sekku Festival is held on 5 May to wish for the healthy growth of boys. Families with boys celebrate this day by laying out the Gogatsu Ningyo (Samurai doll) display consisting of armour, helmet, sword and bow and arrows, which were once worn by brave warriors. This tradition originated in a ritual using sweet calamus (a plant used medicinally, to make fragrances, and the pounded root used as a substitute for ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg) held at the Japanese Imperial Court more than 1200 years ago to ward off evil spirits. The nobility believed that sweet calamus had such strong power because it was among the first to sprout in early spring. Later in the feudal era, this ritual evolved into a ceremony to pray for good fortune for boys and success in wars, and then gradually spread among the common people as a festival for children.
The Gogatsu Ningyo was donated to this Museum by the Nagaizumi-Wanganui Sister City Friendship Centre located in Whanganui. The Friendship Centre was established to promote a better understanding of the culture of Japan and the people of Nagaizumi and to further educational, cultural and sporting exchanges between the two communities. The Friendship Centre closed in 2015 but Nagaizumi and Whanganui, sister cities since 1988, maintain their close relationship.
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