On March 3, 2026, the Girls' Day festival, Shimogamo Shrine, a World Heritage Site in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward, held the traditional "Nagashibina" (Flower Dolls) event, in which sins and impurities are transferred to dolls and then released into the river. Men and women dressed as the Emperor and Empress floated the small dolls down the Mitarashi River within the shrine grounds, praying for the healthy growth of children.

A small boat carrying dolls is dropped into the Mitarai River from the Hashidono (Shimogamo Shrine, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City).

Organized by the Kyoto Dolls Commerce and Industry Cooperative, this is the 38th time the event has been held. It is said to be a modern-day revival of the Heian period custom of warding off evil spirits.

A small boat flowing down the Mitarai River (Shimogamo Shrine, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City)

Around 11:00 a.m., men and women dressed in formal attire and gorgeous 12-layered kimono (hitoe) appeared at the Hashidono (Hashiden Hall) and floated the dolls, placed on circular straw boats, onto the river. Despite the unfortunate rain, many people gathered within the shrine grounds to watch the dolls float away.

A small boat drifting down the Mitarai River, detached from the hands of worshippers (Shimogamo Shrine, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City)

Miyazaki Mei (21 years old), who played the role of Hina doll, whose birthday was that day, smiled and said, "It was a birthday that I will remember for the rest of my life."