Dolls and toys

Japan is sometimes referred to as the “land of dolls” because there are as many various dolls there as people. The doll, in Japase ningio (lit. “image of a person”) used to be not a simple toy, but was worshiped as an image of a deity or a person. Dolls were made of paper, clay, wood, straw and other materials. They were not thrown away, but kept in home, and served as an entertainment not only for children but also for adults. Each area had its specific local dolls. In some Shinto temples dolls could be found which were considered vessels for deities (kami). Dolls that serve as accessories to girls’ and boys’ festivals, theatrical puppet-dolls of the bunraku theater, depictions of famous warriors (musa-ningyo), characters of No and Kabuki theaters, depictions of beauties and court ladies are connected with ancient magical rituals.

Origami-ningyo made of paper were also very popular. Mechanic dolls karakuri which had a clockwork mechanism inside, and on the outside did not differ from ordinary dolls formed a specific type. Such dolls were used, for example, in tea houses: a mechanical doll dressed in a brocade kimono, served the guest with a tea cup or sake on a tray, waited until the guest drinks it and puts back on the tray, then bowed and walked away.

"Cicada" toy. Japan. The Japanese. 1950s.		Girls in winter costumes. Japan. The Japanese, mid-to-late 19th c.		Battledore and shuttlecock. Japan. The Japanese, mid-to-late 19th c.
Toyshop. Japan. Tokio. The Japanese, late 19th-early 20th c.		Toys. Japan. Kyoto. The Japanese. Maykova N., 2006		Toys. Japan. Kyoto. The Japanese. Maykova N., 2006
Stand with golden fish. Gion festival in Tokio.		Display of toy shop. Japan. Kyoto. The Japanese. Maykova N., 2006