{{Short description|Shinto doll}} {{italic title}} [[File:4 Chome Kaminoge, Setagaya-ku, Tōkyō-to 158-0093, Japan - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Katashiro used in Hinamatsuri.]] A {{nihongo||形代|'''katashiro'''}} is a kind of {{Transliteration|ja|yorishiro}} where a kami is said to enter which has a human form.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Encyclopedia of Shinto詳細 |url=https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=9649 |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=國學院大學デジタルミュージアム |language=ja}}</ref> In Shinto rituals and folk customs, dolls are used as human substitutes to transfer sins and impurities during exorcisms. They are usually made of paper or thin boards. After the exorcism, they are thrown into the river or sea, or burned.<ref>{{Cite web|last=第２版|first=日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ),精選版 日本国語大辞典,ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典,デジタル大辞泉,百科事典マイペディア,世界大百科事典|title=形代とは|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BD%A2%E4%BB%A3-44940|access-date=2022-02-26|website=コトバンク|language=ja|archive-date=2022-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226061550/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BD%A2%E4%BB%A3-44940|url-status=live}}</ref> During Hinamatsuri in March, people use these dolls as {{nihongo||撫で物|nademono}} to stroke the parts of their bodies that are not in good shape, and then cast them into the river or sea to pray for the growth of their children.<ref name="こんな話知ってる-2020a">{{Cite web|title=こんな話知ってる？雛人形豆知識|url=https://kougetsu.co.jp/hinamatsuri/rekisi.html|access-date=2020-10-27|publisher=|archive-date=2020-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030075624/https://kougetsu.co.jp/hinamatsuri/rekisi.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Davies|first=Jake|title=Nagashibina Doll Museum|language=en|work=JapanVisitor Japan Travel Guide|url=https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-museums/nagashibina|access-date=1 March 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175750/https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-museums/nagashibina|url-status=live}}</ref>
== History == [[File:平安京出土_人形代.JPG|right|thumb|200x200px|Katashiro from the Heian period located in Kyoto City Archaeological Museum]] Katashiro is said to have existed since Ancient times, and has been found in Dogu from the Jōmon period, human-faced earthenware from the Yayoi period, and human haniwa from the Kofun period. Since they were to be flushed with water, plants and trees were used as materials. In Japan, from ancient times to the present, an event called "Oharai", which is described in Kojiki and Enki-Shiki, has been held at Shinto shrines all over Japan.<ref name="こんな話知ってる-2020a"/> In this event, people blow on the dolls distributed by the shrine and stroke the parts of the body that are not in good shape to remove impurities, and then throw them into the river or sea. This act of "letting go" is later associated with wish-fulfillment, and is sometimes linked to the Tanabata Festival held at the same time, when tanzaku (short strips of paper) are leaked. The burning of dolls, strips of paper, and bamboo is partly performed, but this is an event derived from Donton-yaki and Esoteric Buddhism, and is thought to have been mixed in with Shinbutsu-shūgō.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}
==Remnants ==
Today's "{{ill|Nagashi-bina|ja|流し雛}}" and "Tanabata-bina" are said to be remnants of Katashiro.<ref name="こんな話知ってる-2020a"/>
== See also ==
* Amulet * Hinamatsuri * Hōko (doll) * Straw dog * Yorishiro
== References == <references />
== External links ==
* [https://kougetsu.co.jp/hinamatsuri/rekisi.html こんな話知ってる？雛人形豆知識] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030075624/https://kougetsu.co.jp/hinamatsuri/rekisi.html |date=2020-10-30 }} - こうげつ人形
{{Shinto shrines}}
Category:Shinto religious objects Category:Japanese dolls