The Doll Festival, or Hina-matsuri, is a time to pray for the health and happiness of your young daughter. Originally, it was a day set aside to wash away any troubles with running water. Shimogamo shrine continues this tradition by setting paper dolls to float away in the stream that runs through the shrine, taking any evil away with them.
Kyoto Wakuden’s course for March celebrates health and the coming of spring with a bowl of clam and fresh seaweed, beef and mugwort mochi with a bitter leaf bud sauce, and a special sushi with shellfish.