About

The Hinamatsuri (雛祭り) display follows a rigid hierarchical protocol codified during the Edo period. A full 7-tier platform (hina dan) contains 15 principal dolls plus furnishings, arranged in descending court rank. Misplacing a doll - such as swapping the Udaijin (Minister of the Right) with the Sadaijin (Minister of the Left) - violates centuries of protocol. This generator procedurally constructs tier arrangements following traditional positioning rules. Each doll is rendered from geometric primitives on a Canvas element. Color palettes are constrained to historically plausible kimono dye ranges using HSL saturation between 40% and 70%.

The tool approximates doll proportions based on standard commercial hina ningyo ratios. It does not replicate regional variants (Kyo-bina vs. Kanto-bina face orientation defaults to Kanto convention: Emperor on viewer's left). Pro tip: in Kyoto-style displays, the Emperor sits on the viewer's right. Use the mirror toggle if you need Kyo-bina arrangement.

Formulas

Doll vertical proportion is calculated from the base tier width. Each tier's width is a linear interpolation between the top and bottom boundaries of the display canvas:

W_tier = W_min + iN − 1 ⋅ (W_max − W_min)

where i is the tier index (zero-based from top), N is the total number of tiers, W_min is the top tier width, and W_max is the bottom tier width.

Doll size scales proportionally to tier width:

S_doll = W_tier ÷ (n_dolls + 1) ⋅ 0.8

where n_dolls is the number of dolls on that tier. The 0.8 factor prevents edge clipping.

Pastel color generation uses HSL with constrained saturation and lightness:

H = rand(0, 360), S ∈ [40%, 70%], L ∈ [70%, 85%]

This guarantees all generated kimono colors remain within the pastel range characteristic of Heian-period layered robes (jūnihitoe palette).

Reference Data

Tier	Japanese Name	Dolls / Items	Count	Description
1	Dairi-bina (内裏雛)	Emperor & Empress	2	The imperial couple, highest rank. Gold folding screen behind.
2	San-nin Kanjo (三人官女)	Three Court Ladies	3	Attendants serving sake. Center lady is seated, flanking two stand.
3	Go-nin Bayashi (五人囃子)	Five Musicians	5	Play drums, flute, and sing. Seated left to right by instrument size.
4	Udaijin & Sadaijin (右大臣・左大臣)	Two Ministers	2	Right Minister (young) and Left Minister (old). Guards of the court.
5	Sannin Jougo (三人仕丁)	Three Servants	3	Express three emotions: laughing, crying, angry. Carry tools.
6	Dougu (道具) - Left	Furnishings Set A	3	Tansu (chest), nagamochi (trunk), hasamibako (sewing box).
7	Dougu (道具) - Right	Furnishings Set B	3	Goshoguruma (ox cart), jubako (food box), kagokago (palanquin).
Red Cloth (毛氈)		Hi-mōsen	1	Scarlet felt covering all tiers. Symbolizes warding off evil.
Bonbori (雪洞)		Paper Lanterns	2	Placed on tier 1, flanking the imperial couple.
Peach Blossoms (桃の花)		Momo no Hana	2	Branches placed on tier 1. Symbolize fertility and protection.
Hishimochi (菱餅)		Diamond Rice Cakes	2	Pink, white, green layers on tier 1 or 2.
Shirozake (白酒)		Sweet White Sake	1	Ceremonial sake served during festival.
Festival Date		March 3rd	-	Must be disassembled promptly or daughter's marriage is delayed (superstition).
Kanto Style		Emperor Left	-	Emperor on viewer's left (modern standard since Meiji era).
Kyoto Style		Emperor Right	-	Emperor on viewer's right (traditional court protocol).

Frequently Asked Questions

The Kyoto (Kyo-bina) arrangement preserves the original court protocol where the Emperor sat facing south with his left (east) side being the position of honor. After the Meiji Restoration, Western influence placed the Emperor on the observer's left, which became the Kanto standard. This generator defaults to Kanto convention. Use the mirror toggle to switch to Kyo-bina positioning.

The generator follows hierarchical truncation. A 1-tier display shows only the Emperor and Empress (Dairi-bina). A 3-tier display adds the Court Ladies and Musicians. Tiers are always populated top-down following the traditional rank order. You cannot display tier 5 without tiers 1 through 4.

Colors are generated procedurally within HSL constraints: hue is randomized across 0 - 360°, saturation is clamped between 40% and 70%, and lightness between 70% and 85%. This mimics the pastel palette of traditional silk dyes. You can lock a color palette via the preset buttons or regenerate individual tier colors.

Yes. The export button converts the Canvas element to a PNG file using the native canvas.toBlob() API. The exported image is at 2× device pixel ratio for retina clarity. Print styles are also included for direct browser printing.

A persistent Japanese superstition holds that leaving the hina ningyo on display past March 3rd will delay the daughter's marriage. While culturally significant, this has no basis in the dolls themselves. The belief likely originated as motivation to properly store expensive silk dolls before spring humidity could cause damage.

Yes. In traditional arrangement, the center Court Lady (san-nin kanjo) is seated and holds the sake stand (sanpō). The two flanking ladies stand: one holds a long-handled sake pourer (nagae no chōshi) and the other a backup pourer (kuwae no chōshi). The generator renders the center figure in a seated posture to reflect this.