How to choose Hina dolls

"Will decorate your Hina doll Why?"

The dolls of Gosekku have the meaning of amulets, such as protecting children and wishing for healthy growth. Therefore, one for each person is the basic form. If you still have your favorite parents' dolls, why don't you just decorate the hina dolls and armor helmets next to your new child's dolls? If you have siblings, you should be able to arrange them one by one, but for the younger children, it is better to have only the doll itself or a doll in a case.

"What do I order when I was?"

Ideally, you should come to the store by February 10th for the Doll's Festival. After that, both stores will start to sell out and the range of choices will be narrowed. Most of the festival dolls are handmade, so it will not be possible to deliver them in time for the festival.

Both shops are crowded on holidays such as Saturdays and Sundays. If you come to the store on weekdays when the store is relatively open, you may be able to see the goods slowly.

You may decide to come to the store with your family on holidays after making a preliminary inspection when the store is open and considering some points.

"Decide decorate location."

The way and size of Hina dolls will differ depending on the space you decorate, so please decide where to decorate as much as possible before you come to the store.

Recently, an increasing number of customers are saying, "It's hard to find a place to decorate because of the room and furniture." The period for decorating festival dolls is one to one and a half months. If you cannot secure a place by all means, one idea is to prepare a simple stand for the period of decoration.

How to choose the dolls ~ Check Point ~

Hina dolls are the same as the clothes we wear, and they look beautiful if they are well tailored. Also, even if you decorate it for a long time, it will not lose its shape. However, of course, it takes time and effort, so the more you put in it, the more expensive it becomes.

Generally, chicks made in Kyoto are expensive because experienced craftsmen take the time to make them and cannot mass-produce them. In addition, the technique unique to Kyoto is still maintained, so there is an atmosphere unique to Kyoto chicks. Recently, there are some Hina dolls from other production areas that are well made, but I think there is a clear difference when compared.

There are some points to see the dolls, so I would like to introduce them.

"Are you using the natural materials?"

As a matter of course, isn't resin used for doll parts such as hands? Recently, because it can be made cheaply, a large number of dolls using resin parts have become available. It's easy to handle, so it's not bad at all, but if it's more than a certain amount, I would like to use solid natural parts.

"Do costume making is neat?"

If you make a lot of parts for clothes and take time, it will not lose its shape and will be finished. The same is true for dolls.

It takes a lot of work, but if you divide it into many parts and make a costume, you can make a doll that does not easily lose its shape.

In addition, although this is a technique unique to Kyoto, we use a technique called "bagging," in which glue is placed on the four sides of Japanese paper to line the fabric. This technique creates a fluffy feel when finished. The general method is to put the non-woven fabric (non-woven fabric, used for packing products, etc.) on the back of the fabric as it is. It is suitable for mass production because it does not take time and effort.

"What are making a firm body?"

A doll is a rough process of first making a torso (called a torso), making a costume (called a costume preparation), putting it on, and finally posing (called a kaina fold). I will finish it through. Therefore, the basic fuselage must be made firmly.

In the case of general Kyoto chicks, the old-fashioned straw body (straw bundled into a cylinder and treated with insect repellent) is used. Recently, paulownia barrels (molded paulownia) have also come to be used. However, when using a paulownia body, it is difficult to make fine adjustments, and the finish tends to be uneven.

Also, if you look under the male chicks, you can see that the neat ones are made up to the legs (called foot folds). Most of the simple ones are just made of boards.

There are many points that cannot be understood by just looking at the tailoring of dolls, so I think it is better to visit the store and listen to the explanation directly for details. If the store has a solid understanding of dolls, they will explain it to you. We recommend that you listen to the explanation as carefully as possible before purchasing.