A is a kind of soft-bodied

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 ...

given to young women of age and especially to

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to protect both

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

and unborn

child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

. Traditionally, ''hōko'' dolls were made of

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

and human hair, and stuffed with

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. The dolls could be made for both boys and girls. Boys' dolls would be given up and "consecrated" at a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

when boys came of age at 15 years old, while girls would give up their dolls at marriage. The dolls were given to children either at birth, or on special days shortly after birth. Pregnant woman would be given new ones, so as to protect her and her unborn child together, for the duration of the pregnancy.

History

''Hōko'' can be traced back to "

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 ...

ic figures" from early Japanese history, and are likely related to the concept of using

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 use ...

s (''

hina Hina may refer to: People and deities * Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Hina (goddess), the name assigned to a number of Polynesian deities. * Hina (singer), of 2021 group Lightsum Other u ...

''), as "stand-ins for people." The use of in spiritual practice as stand-ins to take on the brunt of a person's sins or misfortune also played a role in the creation of ''hōko'' dolls as well as for absentee family members (i.e. mother dolls for

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

Amagatsu

''Amagatsu'' ( 天児; derivation unclear), also known-as "guardian dolls" or "hoko-hina" ("lowly child dolls"), are another type of doll similar in function as an amulet or talisman to the ''hōko'' doll, documented back to at least the 11th century with a mention in ''

The Tale of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is one of history's first novels, the first by a woman to have wo ...

''. Amagatsu were of simple construction: pairs of sticks (wood or bamboo) were strapped together--with the body and arms traditionally forming a "T" shape--a stuffed silk cloth head was attached-on-top and clothing draped on it. Sources mentioning the specific term ''hōko'' start appearing in 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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, but are more apparent in the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

of Japan's history; in the Muromachi era (1333-1568), these figures were kept by a child's bedside to ward off evil. It is also thought that a child's clothes should be hung on the T-form of the ''amagatsu'', like a ''kimono'' stand, to take any evil elements away from the clothes. The ''hoko'' consisted of white silk stuffed with cotton and was presented to a child on his/her birth, often as an ''ubuyashinai'' (gift to a baby on the 3rd, 5th, and 9th nights). Used for both boys and girls, these dolls were a constant in their early life. Boys would keep them until the age of 15, when their "guardians" would be consecrated at a nearby shrine. In later years, the ''amagatsu'' and ''hōko'' dolls became essentially the same thing, with the dolls more commonly made out of cloth and other soft materials.1988, (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese),

Tōkyō Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital and most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which ...

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

References

{{Reflist Japanese dolls Play (activity) Traditional toys Talismans Amulets Objects believed to protect from evil Magic items Superstitions Lucky symbols Superstitions of Japan Culture of Japan

History

Amagatsu

See also

References