Emperor and Empress Dolls; Kyōhō Bina, known as Ōuchibina

On the third day of the third month, dolls known as hina ningyō are put on display for the Peach (or Doll) Festival, held to pray that girls grow up in good health. Actually, various documents suggest that old rites held early in the third month involved purifying the bodily defilements and that these were transformed into a Girl’s festival involving the display of hina dolls in the beginning of the Edo period. Reputedly this was a conflation of the human-shaped paper cutouts (hitogata) used for exorcising evil with girl’s play dolls.
Early hina dolls were standing dolls, developed from the paper cutouts for exorcisms, but since they could not balance on their own, they were stood up against a wall for display. Eventually seated hina dolls appeared, changing style with the tastes of the times. Today the hina dolls are categorized by names reflecting the periods in which they were popular, such as Kane'i bina and Kyōho bina, or by the names recorded in Edo period documents, such as Jirōzaemon bina and Kokin bina.
Kyōho bina were popular in the early eighteenth century and continued to be produced for many years. Characteristically their beautiful features display long faces with broad, incised eyes. Both the Emperor and Empress’s heads have implanted hair and wear gorgeous brocaded garments in the style of court costumes.