Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor of Rome, wrote his private reflections in Meditations, offering timeless wisdom on living a meaningful life. Despite ruling one of history’s greatest empires, he grappled with anxiety, frustration, and the search for purpose. His insights reveal profound lessons most men understand only after years of struggle.

1. You Control Only Your Thoughts and Actions

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius.

Most men waste years attempting to control circumstances beyond their influence—worrying about others’ opinions, market crashes, or political developments. Marcus understood that your only absolute authority is your own mind. Your response to events, not the events themselves, determines your experience. This distinction between what you can and can’t control is perhaps the most liberating realization a man can have.

2. Your Time is Limited — Stop Living for Tomorrow

“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” – Marcus Aurelius.

The tragedy isn’t that men die, but that they never truly live. They postpone joy and authentic connection until after the next promotion or retirement. Marcus, who faced death daily, recognized that deferring life is ultimate self-betrayal. Each moment is the only moment you possess. Those who learn this late find themselves surrounded by regrets for experiences never had.

3. Your Perception Creates Your Reality

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” – Marcus Aurelius.

External events are neutral. A job loss or betrayal becomes painful only through your interpretation. This doesn’t mean denying genuine hardship, but understanding that between stimulus and response lies your power to choose meaning. Two men experience the same setback, yet one finds devastation, while the other discovers opportunity. Most men realize too late that they’ve been torturing themselves with their stories about reality, not reality itself.

4. Character Matters More Than Reputation

“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.” – Marcus Aurelius.

Men sacrifice integrity daily for others’ approval—taking soul-draining jobs, suppressing authentic beliefs, abandoning values to maintain a favorable image. Character is who you are when no one watches. Reputation is merely what others think they know. One provides genuine self-respect and is within your control. The other is a shadow you’ll never catch.

5. Anger and Resentment Poison Only You

“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” – Marcus Aurelius

Holding anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. The damage you inflict through sustained rage far exceeds whatever harm initially provoked you. When you harbor resentment, you grant your offender permanent residence in your mind. Forgiveness isn’t excusing bad behavior; it’s freeing yourself from carrying hatred. This lesson, learned too late, leaves men looking back on years wasted in anger that accomplished nothing.

6. Your Obstacles Are Your Opportunities

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” – Marcus Aurelius.

Every obstacle contains seeds of equivalent or greater benefit. The challenge blocking your path forces you to develop new capabilities or discover alternative routes. Marcus understood that obstacles aren’t the interruption to your path; they are the path. Men who grasp this early transform setbacks into stepping stones. Those who learn it late realize they spent years avoiding the very difficulties that could have forged their most significant growth.

7. Simplicity Brings Freedom

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius.

The emperor of Rome, surrounded by unimaginable wealth, understood that happiness requires very little. Modern men chase bigger houses, more impressive titles, fuller schedules. They mistake accumulation for achievement and busyness for importance. Marcus recognized that contentment springs from internal alignment, not external acquisition. Simplicity isn’t deprivation; it’s liberation from the tyranny of endless wanting.

8. Everyone is Fighting Their Own Battle

Marcus began many days acknowledging that he would encounter difficult people. Rather than being surprised, he prepared with compassion. Every person is fighting battles you know nothing about. This understanding doesn’t excuse poor behavior, but transforms your relationship with it. Judgment becomes curiosity. Frustration becomes empathy. Men who learn this late realize they wasted enormous energy taking things personally that were never about them.

9. Your Thoughts Become Your Life

“Our life is what our thoughts make it.” – Marcus Aurelius.

Life quality is determined by habitual thought quality. Marcus practiced rigorous mental discipline, knowing that unchecked thinking patterns create your experienced reality. A man who thinks in terms of scarcity perceives lack everywhere. One who trains their mind toward gratitude discovers abundance in even the simplest moments. Your thoughts are patterns you’ve reinforced through repetition. Most men don’t realize until late that they’ve been their own worst enemy through decades of toxic self-talk.

10. You Must Die to Ego to Truly Live

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius.

The ego builds elaborate defenses, creating a false self that demands validation and fears criticism. Marcus, despite holding absolute power, practiced humility and gratitude. Surrendering your ego isn’t about losing yourself; it’s about finding yourself. When you stop defending your self-image, you become free, actually to live. This is perhaps the hardest lesson and the one most men learn last, if at all.

Conclusion

Marcus Aurelius left us a manual for practical living. His lessons aren’t difficult to understand intellectually, but require humility to accept and discipline to practice daily. These insights can’t be learned from books alone; they must be lived through experience. Yet awareness can save years of unnecessary suffering. The question isn’t whether you’ll encounter these lessons, but whether you’ll recognize them when they appear.

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This article is about the Lantern Festival in China. For related festivals in the East Asian cultural sphere, see First Full Moon Festival.

The Lantern Festival (traditional Chinese: 元宵節; simplified Chinese: 元宵节; pinyin: Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival (traditional Chinese: 上元節; simplified Chinese: 上元节; pinyin: Shàngyuán jié) and Cap Go Meh (Chinese: 十五暝; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Cha̍p-gō͘-mê), is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar, during the full moon. Usually falling in February or early March on the Gregorian calendar, it marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations.^[1] As early as the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance.^[2]

During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns and solving riddles written on them (traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎; simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜; pinyin: cāidēngmí).^[3][4] In ancient times, lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large, ornate ones..^[5] In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with intricate designs.^[4] For example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals. The lanterns can symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting new ones,^[6] which they will let go of the next year. The lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.^[7]

The festival acts as an Uposatha day on the Chinese calendar.^[8][9] It should not be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes also known as the “Lantern Festival” in locations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.^[2][10] Lantern Festivals have also become popular in Western countries, such as the Water Lantern Festival held in multiple locations in the United States.^[11]

Origin

There are several beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival. However, its roots trace back more than 2,000 years and is popularly linked to the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han dynasty.^[12] Emperor Ming, an advocate of Buddhism, noticed Buddhist monks would light lanterns in temples on the fifteenth day of the first lunisolar month. As a result, he ordered all households, temples and the imperial palace to light lanterns on that evening.^[13] From there it developed into a folk custom. Another likely origin is the celebration of “the declining darkness of winter” and community’s ability to “move about at night with human-made light,” namely, lanterns. During the Han dynasty, the festival was connected to Ti Yin, the deity of the North Star.^[1]

There is one legend that states that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that Taiyi controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings. Beginning with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, all the emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people.^[14][5]

Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC, he proclaimed it to be one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist deity responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunisolar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment, so followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.^[15]

Another legend associates with the Lantern Festival with an ancient warrior named Lan Moon, who led a rebellion against the tyrannical king in ancient China. He was killed in the storming of the city and the successful rebels commemorated the festival in his name.^[15]

Yet another common legend dealing with the origins of the Lantern Festival speaks of a beautiful crane that flew down to earth from heaven. After it landed on earth it was hunted and killed by some villagers. This angered the Jade Emperor in heaven because the crane was his favorite. So, he planned a storm of fire to destroy the village on the fifteenth lunisolar day. The Jade Emperor’s daughter warned the inhabitants of her father’s plan to destroy their village. The village was in turmoil because nobody knew how they could escape their imminent destruction. However, a wise man from another village suggested that every family should hang red lanterns around their houses, set up bonfires on the streets, and explode firecrackers on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth lunisolar days. This would give the village the appearance of being on fire to the Jade Emperor. On the fifteenth lunisolar day, troops sent down from heaven whose mission was to destroy the village saw that the village was already ablaze, and returned to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor. Satisfied, the Jade Emperor decided not to burn down the village. From that day on, people celebrate the anniversary on the fifteenth lunisolar day every year by carrying lanterns on the streets and exploding firecrackers and fireworks.^[16]

Another legend about the origins of Lantern Festival involves a maid named Yuan-Xiao. In the Han dynasty, Dongfang Shuo was a favorite adviser of the emperor. One winter day, he went to the garden and heard a little girl crying and getting ready to jump into a well to commit suicide. Shuo stopped her and asked why. She said she was Yuan-Xiao, a maid in the emperor’s palace and that she never had a chance to see her family since she started working there. If she could not have the chance to show her filial piety in this life, she would rather die. Shuo promised to find a way to reunite her with her family. Shuo left the palace and set up a fortune-telling stall on the street. Due to his reputation, many people asked for their fortunes to be told but everyone got the same prediction – a calamitous fire on the fifteenth lunisolar day. The rumor spread quickly.^[15]

Everyone was worried about the future so they asked Dongfang Shuo for help. Dongfang Shuo said that on the thirteenth lunisolar day, the God of Fire would send a fairy in red riding a black horse to burn down the city. When people saw the fairy they should ask for her mercy. On that day, Yuan-Xiao pretended to be the red fairy. When people asked for her help, she said that she had a copy of a decree from the God of Fire that should be taken to the emperor. After she left, people went to the palace to show the emperor the decree which stated that the capital city would burn down on the fifteenth. When the emperor asked Dongfang Shuo for advice, the latter said that the God of Fire liked to eat tangyuan (sweet dumplings). Yuan-Xiao should cook tangyuan on the fifteenth lunisolar day and the emperor should order every house to prepare tangyuan to worship the God of Fire at the same time. Also, every house in the city should hang red lantern and explode fire crackers. Lastly, everyone in the palace and people outside the city should carry their lanterns on the street to watch the lantern decorations and fireworks. The Jade Emperor would be deceived and everyone would avoid the disastrous fire.^[16]

The emperor happily followed the plan. Lanterns were everywhere in the capital city on the night of the fifteenth lunisolar day and people were walking on the street and there were noisy firecrackers. It looked as if the entire city was on fire. Yuan-Xiao’s parents went into the palace to watch the lantern decorations and were reunited with their daughter. The emperor decreed that people should do the same thing every year. Since Yuan-Xiao cooked the best tangyuan, people called the day Yuan-Xiao Festival.

For each festival celebrated, a switch in the Chinese Zodiac takes place. For example, 2022—the year of the tiger; 2023—the year of the rabbit (water rabbit); and so on.

In the early days, young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love. Matchmakers acted busily in hopes of pairing couples. The brightest lanterns were symbolic of good luck and hope. As time has passed, the festival no longer has such implications in most of Mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.^[10]

Eaten during the Lantern Festival, tangyuan ‘湯圓’ (Southern China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia) or yuanxiao ‘元宵’ (Northern China) is a glutinous rice ball typically filled with sweet red bean paste, sesame paste, or peanut butter.^[3] Tangyuan is different from yuanxiao due to different manual making and filling processes.^[17] It can be boiled, fried or steamed, each has independent taste. However, they are very similar in shape and taste, so most people do not distinguish them for convenience and consider them as the same thing.^[17] Chinese people believe that the round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served symbolize family togetherness, and that eating tangyuan or yuanxiao may bring the family harmony, happiness and luck in the new year.^[2][4]

6th century and afterwards

During the Sui dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yang invited envoys from other countries to China to see the colourful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala performances.^[18]

By the beginning of the Tang dynasty in the seventh century, the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted the curfew, allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chinese poems which describe this happy scene.^[18]

In the Song dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days^[12] and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in China.

Today, displaying lanterns remains a major tradition across China on the fifteenth day of the first lunisolar month. Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in Culture Park. During the Lantern Festival, the park is a virtual ocean of lanterns. Many new designs attract large numbers of visitors. The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 38-meter-high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. Cities such as Hangzhou and Shanghai have adopted electric and neon lanterns, which can often be seen beside their traditional paper or wooden counterparts. Another popular activity at this festival is guessing lantern riddles,^[19] a tradition which dates back to the Song dynasty.^[20]

Lion dance (舞獅), walk on stilts (踩高蹺), riddle games (猜燈謎), dragon dances (耍龍燈) are very popular activities during the festival day and the days following.

The lantern riddle, according to Japanese scholars, became popular as early as the Northern Song dynasty (960–1126). The lantern riddles are done by a host blocking one side of the lantern and pasting riddles on the remaining three sides of the lanterns. Participants will guess the blocked side by solving the riddles, which is called “breaking/solving lantern riddles”. The theme of riddles can be drawn from classics, biographies, poetry, the various philosophers’ well-known stories and novels, proverbs, (the names of) all kinds of birds, animals, and insects, as well as flowers, grasses, vegetables, and herbs. Participants can tear off the riddle of the lantern and let the host verify their answers. Those who answer the correct answer can get a “riddle reward”, including ink, paper, writing brushes, ink slabs, fans, perfumed sachets, fruit, or eatables.^[21]

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Géza von Habsburg-Lothringen studied at the Universities of Fribourg and Bern (Switzerland), Munich and Florence and has a Ph.D. in History of Art and Archeology. He was Chairman of Christie’s in Switzerland and in Europe for 18 years; taught at the New York School of Design; at the Bard Graduate Center for the Decorative Art; at New York University; and lectured for a decade at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He published 15 books on the History of Collecting, Russian Art and Fabergé, and organized five international exhibitions attracting over 2 million visitors.

At present he serves as Visiting Professor at Shijitsu University, Okayama (Japan); Fabergé Guest Curator at the Virginia Museum of Art, where he wrote the catalogue of its collection of Russian Art and organized the exhibition “Fabergé Revealed”; and Curatorial Director of the Fabergé Company. As President of the International Friends of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, he speaks regularly on Habsburg family history, artistic patronage and collecting.

He is President of the International Friends of the Budapest Museum of Applied Art; Advisory Board Member of the Hermitage Foundation; of the Fabergé Museum in St. Petersburg; and Board Member of the Friends of Dresden.

He forms part of the International Council of Museums (ICOM); American Association of Museums (AAM); Appraisers Association of America, New York (AAA); American Association of Jewelry Historians; of the The British Society of Jewellery Historians; and is member of the Vetting Committees of The European Fine Arts Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht; The American International Fine Arts Fair (AIFAF) in Palm Beach; and The International Fine Art & Antique Dealer’s Show in New York.

CURRICULUM VITAE
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
VIRGINIA FINE ARTS MUSEUM, RICHMOND, FABERGÉ GUEST CURATOR 2010-present
FABERGÉ USA, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 1994-2007; CURATORIAL DIRECTOR 2007-present
FABERGÉ ARTS FOUNDATION, CURATOR, DIRECTOR 1991-1994
HABSBURG FINE ART INTERNATIONAL AUCTIONEERS, CHAIRMAN GENEVA AND NEW YORK 1987-1991
CHRISTIE, MANSON & WOODS AUCTIONEERS, CHAIRMAN (SWITZERLAND) 1968-1984; CHAIRMAN (EUROPE) 1980-1984.

EXHIBITIONS CURATED (SELECTION)
KUNSTHALLE, MUNICH, 2003: Fabergé und Cartier, Rivalen am Zarenhof
VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ART, RICHMOND, 2001: Fabergé Revealed
METROPOLIAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK; FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO; RICHMOND, VA; NEW ORLEANS, LA; CLEVELAND, OH, 1996/7: Fabergé in America
STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM, ST. PETERSBURG; MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS, PARIS;
V&A MUSEUM, LONDON, 1993/94: Fabergé, Imperial Court Jeweler
KUNSTHALLE, MUNICH 1986: Fabergé Hofjuwelier der Zaren

BOOKS PUBLISHED (SELECTION)
“Fabergé Revealed”, Richmond Museum Press 2011
“Fabergé. Treasures of Imperial Russia”, The Link of Times Foundation, Moscow 2004 (Russian/English)
“Fabergé/Cartier. Rivalen am Zarenhof”, Hirmer Verlag, Munich 2003 (German)
“Princely Treasures”, Vendome Press, New York 1997 (English, French, German and Italian editions)
“Fabergé in America”, San Francisco Museum of Fine Art, 1996
“Fabergé. Imperial Jeweller” (co-authored with Dr. Marina Lopato), Zwemmer, London 1993 (Russian, French, English)

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Music by Michio Miyagi.

We fly on the exceptional China Airlines through  their new route to Osaka, Japan, and for most they go on to Taiwan.  This trip was for  media and brought to us by China Airlines and The  Foundation for Kansai Region promotion.  We travel along with the leading Asian media in America; Asian Fusion Magazine, The Sing Tao and The World Newspaper and had a fascinating time.  Everyone was special and it was a  trip to remember for a life time.    This post is the first of many to be shared with our audience and we hope that you will share your comments and experiences with us in audio, video or text. 

We feature video about The Japanese Doll Festival (雛祭り, Hina-matsuri^?), or Girls’ Day, is held on March 3.Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls (雛人形, hina-ningyō^?) representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.Origin and customs

The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi (雛流し^?, lit. “doll floating”), in which straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking troubles or bad spirits with them. The Shimogamo Shrine (part of the Kamo Shrine complex in Kyoto) celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children. People have stopped doing this now because of fishermen catching the dolls in their nets. They now send them out to sea, and when the spectators are gone they take the boats out of the water and bring them back to the temple and burn them.

The customary drink for the festival is shirozake, a sake made from fermented rice. A colored hina-arare, bite-sized crackers flavored with sugar or soy sauce depending on the region, and hishimochi, a diamond-shaped colored rice cake, are served. Chirashizushi (sushi rice flavored with sugar, vinegar, topped with raw fish and a variety of ingredients) is often eaten. A salt-based soup called ushiojiru containing clams still in the shell is also served. Clam shells in food are deemed the symbol of a united and peaceful couple, because a pair of clam shells fits perfectly, and no pair but the original pair can do so.

Families generally start to display the dolls in February and take them down immediately after the festival. Superstition says that leaving the dolls past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter.

 Placement

Hinamatsuri store display in Los Angeles, California featuring all 7 tiers.

The Kantō region and Kansai region have different placement orders of the dolls from left to right, but the order of dolls per level are the same.

The term for the platform in Japanese is hina dan (雛壇^?). The layer of covering is called dankake (段掛^?) or simply hi-mōsen (緋毛氈^?), a red carpet with rainbow stripes at the bottom.

First platform, the top

An Emperor doll with an Empress doll, in front of a gold screen. The optional lampstands are also partially visible.

The top tier holds two dolls, known as imperial dolls (内裏雛 (だいりびな), dairi-bina^?). These are the Emperor (御内裏様, Odairi-sama^?) holding a ritual baton (笏, shaku^?) and Empress (御雛様, Ohime-sama^?) holding a fan. The words dairi means “imperial palace“, and hime means “girl” or “princess”.

The dolls are usually placed in front of a gold folding screen byōbu (屏風^?) and placed beside green Japanese garden trees.

Optional are the two lampstands, called bonbori (雪洞^?), and the paper or silk lanterns that are known as hibukuro (火袋^?), which are usually decorated with cherry or ume blossom patterns.

Complete sets would include accessories placed between the two figures, known as sanbō kazari (三方飾^?), composing of two vases of artificial peach branch kuchibana (口花^?).

The traditional arrangement had the male on the right, while modern arrangements had him on the left (from the viewer’s perspective).

 Second platform

The second tier holds three court ladies san-nin kanjo (三人官女^?). Each holds sake equipment. From the viewer’s perspective, the standing lady on the right is the long-handled sake-bearer Nagae no chōshi (長柄の銚子^?), the standing lady on the left is the backup sake-bearer Kuwae no chōshi (加えの銚子^?), and the only lady in the middle is the seated sake bearer Sanpō (三方^?).

Accessories placed between the ladies are takatsuki (高坏^?), stands with round table-tops for seasonal sweets, excluding hishimochi.

 Third platform

The third tier holds five male musicians gonin bayashi (五人囃子^?). Each holds a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan.

Left to right, from viewer’s perspective, they are the:

1. Small drum Taiko (太鼓^?), seated,
2. Large drum Ōtsuzumi (大鼓^?), standing,
3. Hand drum Kotsuzumi (小鼓^?), standing,
4. Flute Fue (笛^?), or Yokobue (横笛^?), seated,
5. Singer Utaikata (謡い方^?), holding a folding fan sensu (扇子^?), standing.

 Fourth platform

Two ministers (daijin) may be displayed on the fourth tier: the Minister of the Right (右大臣, Udaijin^?) and the Minister of the Left (左大臣, Sadaijin^?). The Minister of the Right is depicted as a young person, while the Minister of the Left is much older. Also, because the dolls are placed in positions relative to each other, the Minister of the Right will be on the viewer’s left and the Minister of the Left will be on the viewer’s right. Both are sometimes equipped with bows and arrows.

Between the two figures are covered bowl tables kakebanzen (掛盤膳^?), also referred to as o-zen (お膳^?), as well as diamond-shaped stands hishidai (菱台^?) bearing diamond-shaped ricecakes hishimochi (菱餅^?). Hishidai with feline-shaped legs are known as nekoashigata hishidai (猫足形菱台^?).

Just below the ministers: on the rightmost, a mandarin orange tree Ukon no tachibana (右近の橘^?), and on the leftmost, a cherry blossom tree Sakon no sakura (左近の桜^?).

Fifth platform

The fifth tier, between the plants, holds three helpers or samurai as the protectors of the Emperor and Empress. From left to right (viewer’s perspective):

1. Maudlin drinker nakijōgo (泣き上戸^?),
2. Cantankerous drinker okorijōgo (怒り上戸^?), and
3. Merry drinker waraijōgo (笑い上戸^?)

 Other platforms

On the sixth and seventh tiers, a variety of miniature furniture, tools, carriages, etc., are displayed.

 Sixth platform

These are items used within the palatial residence.

• tansu (箪笥^?) : chest of (usually five) drawers, sometimes with swinging outer covering doors.
• nagamochi (長持^?) : long chest for kimono storage.
• hasamibako (挟箱^?) : smaller clothing storage box, placed on top of nagamochi.
• kyōdai (鏡台^?) : literally mirror stand, a smaller chest of drawer with a mirror on top.
• haribako (針箱^?) : sewing kit box.
• two hibachi (火鉢^?) : braziers.
• daisu (台子^?) : a set of ocha dōgu (お茶道具^?) or cha no yu dōgu (茶の湯道具^?), utensils for the tea ceremony.

 Seventh platform, the bottom

These are items used when away from the palatial residence.

• jubako (重箱^?), a set of nested lacquered food boxes with either a cord tied vertically around the boxes or a stiff handle that locks them together.
• gokago (御駕籠 or 御駕篭^?), a palanquin.
• goshoguruma (御所車^?), an ox-drawn carriage favored by Heian nobility. This last is sometimes known as gisha or gyuusha (牛車^?)).
• Less common, hanaguruma (花車^?), an ox drawing a cart of flowers.

Elsewhere

The Hinamatsuri is also celebrated in Florence (Italy), with the patronage of the Embassy of Japan, the Japanese Institute and the historical Gabinetto Vieusseux.

Song of Hinamatsuri

The song is sung as a celebration of the festival. Its lyrics are as follows:

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