what do you see?

Today is Hina Matsuri in Japan - literally "Princess Festival" but usually called Girl's Day, or sometimes known as Doll's Day in English. This is celebrated by families in the hope that the daughters will grow up healthy and strong. People set up a multi-stepped shrine in the house, with dolls representing the royal family from the Heian period (aout 1300 years ago I think), with the emperor and empress on the top step and various ladies, musicians and attendants on the other steps. There are some good pictures of various styles of hina dolls and other info on Judy Shoaf's page here.