follow me into the rain

I found this picture of Gintama characters as Hinamatsuri dolls: I'm pretty sure it's official art though not 100 % so.

I think it's adorable. Everyone is so IC.

I have a question to any knowledgeable people reading this: in the bottom right corner, Shinpachi is holding an object in his right hand. Does anyone know what that object would be? I feel I've seen similar things in other manga/anime pictures, but I still don't have a clue. It doesn't seem to have the right shape for a fan...