On March 3, 2024, the Peach Festival, an event called Nagashibina, in which Japanese paper Hina dolls are floated down a stream, was held at Shimogamo Shrine in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City. A couple dressed in Heian costumes loaded the doll into a small straw boat and gently released it into the Mitarai River within the shrine grounds.
Nagashibina is a custom in which disasters are transferred to dolls, placed on a boat, and floated away. It is said to be the prototype of Doll's Festival, and is a festival to pray for good health. The Kyoto Doll Commercial and Industrial Cooperative Association holds this event every year.
Doctors Takashi Imamura (30 years old) and Futaba (30 years old) wearing sokutai and hitoe under a clear sky in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, as the couple, maikos, and kindergarteners pray quietly. The doll was thrown into the river. Watched by many worshipers, Takashi said with a smile, ''I prayed for the happiness of the children.''
