Akabeko

In legend, Akabeko the cow was present at the building of the Enzō-ji temple of Yanaizu in the ninth century, and became a permanent fixture there, with some stories saying that the animal was turned to stone.

[1] According to an Aizu-area legend recorded by Thomas Madden, akabeko toys are based upon a real cow that lived in 807 CE.

Upon the temple's completion, the akabeko gave its spirit to a Buddha, and its flesh immediately turned to stone.

Another version of the tale claims that the cow instead refused to leave the temple grounds after construction had been completed and became a permanent fixture there.

[2] After Toyotomi Hideyoshi had solidified his power over Japan, his representative, Gamō Ujisato, was sent to be the lord of the Aizu region in 1590.

At his new post, Ujisato heard the story of akabeko and ordered his court artisans, who had accompanied him from Kyoto, to create a toy based on the red cow.

[2] The artisan paints the toy, beginning with black, then adding the characteristic red, and finally the white eyes and other details.

For example, the Igarashi family paints the Chinese character kotobuki (寿 longevity and luck) on the cow's back and a sun and moon on its side; other workshops add gold markings.