![Hanau-wilhelmsbad-2010-puppenmuseum-079](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Hanau-wilhelmsbad-2010-puppenmuseum-079.jpg)
are one of the traditional
Japanese craft
Traditional in Japan have a long tradition and history. Included in the category of traditional crafts are handicrafts produced by an individual or a group, as well as work produced by independent studio artists working with traditional craft m ...
s.
There are various types of traditional
doll
A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...
s, some representing children and babies, some the imperial court, warriors and heroes, fairy-tale characters, gods and (rarely) demons, and also people of the daily life of Japanese cities. Many have a long tradition and are still made today for household shrines, formal gift-giving, or for festival celebrations such as , the doll festival, or , Children's Day. Some are manufactured as a local craft, to be purchased by pilgrims as a souvenir of a temple visit or some other trip.
History
![Doll makers in Japan (1915 by Elstner Hilton)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Doll_makers_in_Japan_%281915_by_Elstner_Hilton%29.jpg)
There may be a continuity in the making of the , humanoid figures, by the ancient
Jōmon culture in Japan (8000–200 BC), which were associated with fertility or
shamanistic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
rites, at a time when dolls were thought to have
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
s.
Dolls also have continuity from the funerary figures of the subsequent
Kofun
are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』 ...
culture (around 300–600 AD). Expert Alan Pate notes that temple records refer to the making of a grass doll to be blessed and thrown into the river at
Ise Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and .
The Inner ...
in 3 BC; the custom was probably even more ancient, but it is at the root of the modern doll festival, or .
In the early 11th century, around the peak of the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, several types of dolls had already been defined, as known from
Lady Murasaki's novel ''
The Tale of Genji''. Girls played with dolls and doll houses; women made protective dolls for their children or grandchildren; dolls were used in religious ceremonies, taking on the sins of a person whom they had touched. At that time, it was thought that
evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
could be ritualistically transferred to a paper image called a , which were then cast to the river or sea;
Japanese dolls today may be the result of the combination of and paper dolls children once played with.
, though not explicitly mentioned in ''The Tale of Genji'', were soft-bodied dolls given to young women of age and especially to pregnant women to protect both mother and unborn child. Sources mentioning them by name start appearing in the Heian period, but are more apparent in the
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
.
are
roly-poly toy
A roly-poly toy, round-bottomed doll, tilting doll, tumbler, wobbly man, or wobble doll is a round-bottomed toy, usually egg-shaped, that tends to right itself when pushed at an angle, and does this in seeming contradiction to how it should fall. ...
s made from
papier-mâché
upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico
Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
, dating back to at least the 14th century. They are
good-luck charm
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
s and symbols of perseverance and resilience.
Probably the first professional dollmakers were temple sculptors, who used their skill to make painted wooden images of children (Saga dolls). The possibilities of this art form, using carved wood or wood composition, a shining white "skin" lacquer called made from ground oystershell and glue, and textiles, were vast.
During the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
(1603–1867), when Japan was
closed to most trade, there developed both fine dollmakers and a market of wealthy individuals who would pay for the most beautiful doll sets for display in their homes or as valuable gifts. Sets of dolls came to include larger and more elaborate figures, and more of them. The competitive trade was eventually regulated by government, meaning that doll makers could be arrested or banished for breaking laws on materials and height.
Annual doll festival
Homes and shops put up traditionally-clothed dolls of various sizes, set on a red dais, around 3rd March for the festival of . These feature the emperor and empress, attended by a court retinue: warriors, ministers and so on. Full versions include 15 dolls and apparatus such as utensils for . The most elaborate sets can fetch many millions of yen (tens of thousands of US$). The Doll Festival is celebrated to ensure girls' future happiness, and this link to daughters is rooted in the use of dolls in children's play. However, the Doll Festival itself has been part of Japanese culture only since the Edo period.
[Salvador Jimenez Murguia, "Hinamatsuri and the Japanese female: a critical interpretation of the Japanese doll festival." ''Journal of Asia Pacific Studies'' 2.2 (2011): 231-247 ]
Types
It was during the Edo period that most of the traditional doll types known today developed.
![KarakuriBritishMuseum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/KarakuriBritishMuseum.jpg)
* dolls are the dolls for , the doll festival on March 3. They can be made of many materials, but the classic doll has a pyramidal body of elaborate, many-layered textiles stuffed with straw and/or wood blocks, carved wood hands (and in some cases feet) covered with , and a head of carved wood or composite molded wood covered with , with set-in glass eyes (though before about 1850, the eyes were carved into the and painted), and human or silk hair. A full set comprises at least 15 dolls, representing specific characters, with many accessories (), though the basic set is a male-female pair, often referred to as the Emperor and Empress.
* dolls are offered to Japanese children during the holiday, in order to inspire in them the bravery and strength of the legendary
Kintarō
is a folk hero from Japanese folklore. A child of superhuman strength, he was raised by a yama-uba ("mountain witch") on Mount Ashigara. He became friendly with the animals of the mountain, and later, after catching Shuten-dōji, the terror of ...
.
* , or warrior dolls, are usually made of materials similar to the dolls, but the construction is often more complicated, since the dolls represent men (or women) seated on camp chairs, standing, or riding horses. Armor, helmets, and weapons are made of lacquered paper, often with metal accents. There is no specified "set" of such dolls; subjects include
Emperor Jimmu
was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and '' Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"
Empress Jingū
was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Leg ...
with her prime minister Takenouchi holding her newborn imperial son, Shoki the Demon-Queller,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
and his generals and tea-master, and fairy-tale figures such as
Momotarō
is a Folk hero, popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as ''Peach Boy'', but is directly translated as ''Peach + Tarō (given name), Tarō'', a common Japanese given name. ''Momotarō'' is also the title of various books, ...
the Peach Boy or Kintarō the Golden Boy.
* dolls show fat, cute babies in a simplified form. The basic is an almost-naked sitting boy, carved all in one piece, with very white skin, though with elaborate clothing, hairstyle, and accessories, female as well as male, became popular as well. They developed as a gifts associated with the Imperial court, and could be translated "palace" or "court".
* dolls () are made of wood. The ancestors of dolls are ("willow-wood") dolls, small dolls carved of willow and decorated with cloth scraps. refers to a method of making dolls. They start with a carved and/or molded base of wood, wood composite, or (in some modern dolls) plastic foam. A design of different patterned cloth scraps is planned out, and the base is grooved so that the edges of the cloth can be hidden in the grooves. The cloth is glued on and the edges tucked in. The head and hands (if any) of the doll are usually finished with ; the hair may be part of the molded head or be a separate wig. These dolls have become a very popular craft and kits with finished heads can be purchased. The method is also used by some of Japan's
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
dollmakers, who adapt the old materials to new visions.
* , puppets or dolls are mechanical; they include the large figures on festival floats, for festivals like Kyoto's
Gion Matsuri and smaller entertaining scenes, often with a musical element accompanying the movement. They often depict legendary heroes.
* is a form of theatrical puppet theatre which rivalled and inspired the
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
theater, and survives today.
* dolls have been made for 150 years, and are from Northern
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
, the main island of Japan. They were originally made as toys for children of farmers. They have no arms or legs, but a large head and cylindrical body, representing little girls. From a simple toy, it has now become a famous Japanese craft, and now an established
souvenir
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
for tourists.
* are life-sized lifelike dolls, that were popular in shows.
Artists made that were novel not just for their subjects that shocked viewers—figures lying in pools of their own blood, for example—but for their influence on Japanese dolls. The works of Matsumoto Kisaburō and Yasumoto Kamehachi, in particular, contributed to form an extreme sense of realism.
* dolls () represent little girls or boys, correctly proportioned and usually with flesh-colored skin and glass eyes. The original were named after an 18th-century kabuki actor, and must have represented an adult man, but since the late 19th century the term has applied to child dolls, usually made to hold in the arms, dress, and pose (either with elaborately made joints or with floppy cloth upper arms and thighs). Baby boy dolls with mischievous expressions were most popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, but in 1927 the
friendship doll exchange involved the creation of 58 dolls representing little girls, to be sent as a gift from Japan to the United States, and the aesthetic of these dolls influenced dollmakers to emulate this type of a solemn, gentle-looking little girl in elaborate kimono.
* are spherical dolls with red bodies and white faces without pupils. They represent
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century apo ...
, an East Indian who founded
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
about 1500 years ago; according to legend, he removed his own eyelids to prevent sleep from breaking his concentration, and his limbs withered after prolonged meditation. dolls are charms to bring good fortune, continued prosperity, and fortitude to accomplish goals. Usually dolls are purchased with blank eyes. One eye is filled when making a wish, the other when the wish is fulfilled. Wishes can be made throughout the year, but it is common in Japan to do it on
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
.
* ("shine-shine monk") are strictly speaking not a type of doll. They are handmade of white paper or cloth, and hung from a window by a string to bring good weather and prevent rain.
* dolls ("crawling child") are a soft-bodied doll given to young women of age and especially to pregnant women in Japan as a
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
to protect both mother and unborn child.
With the end of the Edo period and the advent of the modern
Meiji era
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...
in the late 1800s, the art of doll-making changed as well:
* Silk-skinned or "mask-face" dolls became a popular craft in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, allowing the individual to design elaborate kimono for dolls representing women of various periods of Japanese history, particularly the Edo period. Dolls of this type continued to be made and were a popular item for servicemen and tourists to bring back after World War II, though they also might choose dolls representing similar subjects made with faces.
*
Bisque dolls are made of fired clay.
Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
is a traditional center of the manufacture of bisque dolls, and are famous throughout Japan.
* and (literally "big sister dolls" and "bookmark dolls," respectively) are made of
washi
is traditional Japanese paper. The term is used to describe paper that uses local fiber, processed by hand and made in the traditional manner. ''Washi'' is made using fibers from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (''Ed ...
paper. tend to be three-dimensional, whereas are flat. often have elaborate hairstyles and costumes made of high-quality washi paper. They often lack facial features. Those from
Shimane Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguc ...
are especially famous.
** A hybrid of and , called , has become popular in recent years. are a type of Japanese
paper doll
Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been inex ...
s made with figures and scenes and are mounted on , a rectangular fancy cardboard about a square foot (about a tenth of a square meter) in size.
* More recent and less traditional Japanese dolls are
ball-jointed dolls (BJDs), whose growth in popularity has spread to the US and other countries since the advent of the
Super Dollfie
, often abbreviated SD, is a brand of ball-jointed doll, or BJD, made by the Japanese company Volks. They are made to be easy to customize and are primarily marketed to adult doll collectors and customizers. They are cast in polyurethane resin, a ...
, first made by
Volks
is a Japan-based corporation that produces garage kits and mecha kits as well as the Dollfie, Super Dollfie and Dollfie Dream lines of dolls. The company's headquarters is in Kyoto, with some 30 shops worldwide, and annual sales of about $50 mi ...
in 1999. BJDs can be very realistic-looking or based more on the
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
aesthetic. They are made of
polyurethane
Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...
resin
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
which makes them very durable. These dolls are highly customizable in that owners can sand them, change out their wig and eye colors, and even change their face paint. Because of this hands-on aspect of customization, they are not only popular with collectors, but also with
hobby
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing Sport, sports, or pursu ...
ists.
Collectors
![Japanese toys, from Unai no tomo (A Child's Friends) by Shimizu Seifu, 1891-1923](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Japanese_toys%2C_from_Unai_no_tomo_%28A_Child%27s_Friends%29_by_Shimizu_Seifu%2C_1891-1923._Cats_01.jpg)
Japanese dolls are broken down into several subcategories. Two of the most prominent are Girl's Day, , and the Boy's Day , or display dolls, , , and . Collections can be categorized by the material they are made of such as wood dolls ( and ) and clay forms such as , , and .
In the 19th century, were introduced to the West. Doll collecting has since become a popular pastime in the West. Famous well known collectors from the West include individuals such as
James Tissot
Jacques Joseph Tissot (; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), anglicized as James Tissot (), was a French painter and illustrator. He was a successful painter of fashionable, modern scenes and society life in Paris before moving to London in 1871 ...
(1836–1902),
Jules Adeline
Jules Adeline (28 April 1845, Rouen - 24 August 1909, Rouen) was a French designer, engraver, illustrator, and historian. He produced over 9,000 images; largely devoted to Rouen and the surrounding areas.
Life and work
His father, Louis Adelin ...
(1845–1909), Eloise Thomas (1907–1982), and Samuel Pryor (1898–1985). James Tissot was known to be a religious history painter. In 1862, after attending a London Exhibition, he was drawn to
Japanese art
Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture, ink painting and calligraphy on silk and paper, ''ukiyo-e'' paintings and woodblock prints, ceramics, origami, and more recently manga and anime. It ...
. During the 1860s, Tissot was known as one of the most important collectors of Japanese art in Paris. His collections included -style
kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
, paintings, bronze, ceramics, screens and a number of (dolls from the late Edo period). Adeline was known as a working artist and he is also known as "Mikika". Adeline produced many works throughout his career as a working artist. He is best known for his
etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s and received the
Cross of the Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
for his Vieux-Roven "Le Parvis Notre-Dame". Unlike Tissot, Adeline is recognized as a true collector. A majority of Adeline's collection consisted of , and only a few prints.
During the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, three men became pioneers in collecting : Shimizu Seifū (1851–1913), Nishizawa Senko (1864–1914), and Tsuboi Shōgorō (1863–1913). The three men are referred to as ("the three great toy collectors"). They introduced a systematic approach to collecting in an effort to preserve and document the various forms of . Shimizu, an artist and calligrapher, put his artistic ability to use by creating an illustrated catalog of his own collection of 440 dolls. The catalog was published in 1891, under the title . Nishizawa, a banker, gathered a significant collection on . He was an active researcher, collector of stories, documents, and information relating to the development of during the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
. Nishizawa's son Tekiho (1889–1965) inherited his collection, but a great portion of the collection was lost in the
Kanto earthquake
Kantō (Japanese)
Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics.
In Japan
Kantō may refer to:
*Kantō Plain
*Kantō region
*Kantō-kai, organized crime group
*Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...
of 1923. Tsuboi, founder of the Tokyo Anthropological Society, was the most trained of the three, and he brought a scientific element to the collecting of .
[Pate (2008), pp. 24–28]
Dolls have been a part of
Japanese Culture
The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world.
Historical overview
The ance ...
for many years, and the phenomenon of collecting them is still practiced. Many collections are preserved in museums, including the
Peabody Essex Museum
The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem (which acquired the Society's collection) and the ...
,
Kyoto National Museum
The is one of the major art museums in Japan. Located in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward, the museum focuses on pre-modern Japanese and Asian art.
History
The Kyoto National Museum, then the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, was proposed, along with the Impe ...
, and the
Yodoko Guest House.
See also
*
*
Japanese craft
Traditional in Japan have a long tradition and history. Included in the category of traditional crafts are handicrafts produced by an individual or a group, as well as work produced by independent studio artists working with traditional craft m ...
*
References
*
Further reading
* Albert, Kathy. ''Japanese Boy and Girl Paper Dolls''. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.
* Larson, Jack Lenor. ''Folk Art from the Global Village''. Santa Fe, NM: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1995.
* Pate, Alan Scott. ''Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyō''. Tokyo, Rutland, Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 2008.
External links
{{commonscat-inline, Dolls from Japan
Oxford College Collection of Asian Artifacts(collection of Japanese dolls), at
Oxford College of Emory University
Oxford College of Emory University (Oxford College) is a residential college of Emory University, a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Oxford college is located in Oxford and specializes in the foundations of liberal arts educat ...