are a range of fist-sized

bobble head A bobblehead, also known by common silly nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible action figure. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected t ...

figurines made by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese toy company

Tomy is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...

. They first went on sale in Japan on July 18, 2002.Tomy's "Nohohon Zoku" Healing Figurines Go on Sale
Nikkei BP Net. Accessed January 31, 2008. They are distinguished by a large spherical head with a wide smile and dots for eyes. The purpose of the dolls is stress relief.
Minna no Shūshoku Kabushiki Kaisha. Accessed January 31, 2008. This has made them popular as novelty items in offices . Nohohon are marketed as Sunshine Buddies in English speaking countries.

Environmental focus

The figurines are intended to be eco-friendly. The ''Nohohon Cycle'' rotates from the Earth, to food, people and the environment. Most Nohohon Zoku are powered by small

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

, they gently sway their heads until the light source is removed. This is unlike traditional bobble head doll, whose heads wobble when poked or moved. ''Hanauta no Tami'' are powered by three triple-A batteries.).

Figurines

The name Nohohon Zoku means "carefree family." The original two lines were the ''Hidamari no Tami'' (ひだまりの民 ''Sunny People'') and the ''Hanauta no Tami'' (はなうたの民 ''Humming People''). The ''Hidamari no Tami'' can hold a business card sized piece of paper, whereas the ''Hanauta no Tami'' can sing and dance. Since the original introduction, other lines have been introduced, including a range from

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and

Pingu ''Pingu'' is a stop-motion children's television series co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann. It was originally produced from 1990 to 2000 by Swiss company The Pygos Group (originally called Trickfilmstudio) for SF DRS in Switzerlan ...

characters.Nohohon Zoku Public Site
Tomy Co., Ltd. Accessed January 14, 2008. The size of the figurines varies with the model, with the ''Hidamari no Tami'' measuring about in width, depth and height. The ''Hanauta no Tami'' are slightly taller, at .

Sales

Basic ''Hidamari no Tami'' figurines cost about 1000

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

, though the price of ''Hanauta no Tami'' is approximately double. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the toys, known as Sunshine Buddies, are sold for about £8 each and are marketed toward women ages 20 to 45 as friendship gifts. In the U.S. they are usually marketed at 13.99 U.S. dollars.

References

External links

Official website
(Japanese only) Takara Tomy Electronic toys {{toy-stub