Hina Matsuri, also "Doll's Day," "Girls' Day," and "Momo no Sekku," is a Japanese religious holiday celebrated on March 3 to pray for the health and good future of young girls. Traditionally, parents or grandparents of a newborn girl buy a set of hina ningyo ("hina dolls") for the baby, unless they have special dolls that are inherited from generation to generation. Dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians are attired in traditional court dress of the Heian period (794-1185), and are displayed in the household on the day of the festival. During Hina Matsuri and the preceding days, girls hold parties with their friends, serving special food delicacies that are ceremonially beautiful and delicious.

In this image, Sandra Nakatani (left), Tazuye Kiyono (center, seated), and Sally Kadoshima (right) pose together in the traditional Japanese clothing they wore to perform a dance during a Hina Matsuri festival celebration at the Young Women's Christian (YWCA), on 5th Avenue and Seneca in downtown Seattle. The event was sponsored by the Cosami Club of the YWCA and featured a tea and other entertainment, including a display of rare hina dolls and a talk about their significance, musical entertainment, and a demonstration of Japanese flower arrangement. The Cosami Club was described at the time as being composed of "a group of young married women interested in making friends of all races."

Caption information source: "Cosami to note 'Hinamatsuri" at YW March 3," The Northwest Times, February 28, 1948, retrieved from https://ddr.densho.org/media/ddr-densho-229/ddr-densho-229-91-mezzanine-157a9a1586.pdf.
Caption information source: "Japanese Doll Festival To Be Held," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 29, 1948, page 43.
Caption information source: "The Meaning of Hina Matsuri, the Japanese Girls’ Day and Its Dolls," by Amélie Geeraert, February 25, 2021, retrieved from https://kokoro-jp.com/culture/2056/.