Joshi, Artificial flowers

The history of artificial flower-making in Japan goes back to the 8th century, when a poem in the Man yoshu anthology contains a poem apparently referring to such flowers. In the Heian period (794-1 1 85) artificial flowers were made of thread and cloth as a part of seasonal court events. The head of the Unjo-ryu； the final school to carry on this tradition, is located in Kyoto.
The most representative cerempnies featuring courtly artificial flowers are the called Go-sekku. The jinjitsu, Joshi, Tango, Shichiseki, and Choyo originally came from China and were ratified by the shogunate in 1616.
From the fact that it occurs during the season when the peach tree blooms, it is also called the Peach Festival. In the past it was a day to pray for the health of children and to ward of evil, but today it has become a girl's festival. In the Heian capital the ceremonial hall called the Shishinden of the Imperial Palace was facing south, and a cherry (sakura) was planted on the eastern, left side, and a tachibana orange tree on the right to the west. Dolls would be displayed in the same way, with the dolls facing south and with cherry and orange trees on either side. The cherry tree was arranged so that it would rise up like the sun in the east, a feature of the Unjo-ryu style.