Back to my brother-in-law's

 We left ninjadera and returned to our car. The parking lot was now empty in front of this temple so I finally got a good view of the bright red railing.

 The drive home was uneventful, although it was snowing hard all the way. Back at the house, my sister-in-law show us the traditional dolls that she had set up in anticipation of Girl's Day which was coming soon. These dolls are not to be played with, but to be looked at. They are put on display for a short time once a year. The two figures in the top row represent the Emperor and Empress. In the rows below them are the people and things of the Imperial Household.

 This is the Emperor. He is about the same height as an average human hand in this set. Most of the time the dolls are not very tall and some sets will be extremely small. The old leaders of the country had sets that consisted of hundreds of individual pieces with incredible levels of craftsmanship involved.

 Here is the Empress. She is sitting of a raised throne and there are various pieces of furniture that are part of the set.

 These dolls represent the court musicians and each doll is playing a different instrument.

This doll is a warrior who is guarding the rest of the members of the Imperial Household.