[2][3] The dogū is an ocher-colored clay statuette 27 cm (11 in) high and weighing 2.14 kg (4.7 lb).

[3] Its shape is thought to resemble a pregnant woman: broad hips, a pronounced gluteal arch, prominent breasts and an enlarged belly.

[3] In contrast to the overwhelming majority of the 20,000 dogū found in Japan, which were fragmented, the Venus of Jōmon is complete and has all its limbs.

[3] In 1986, archaeological excavations were organized before the construction of an industrial park in the town of Chino at the site of the former hamlet of Tanabatake, located at the foot of the southern slope of Mount Kirigamine in the Yatsugatake Mountains, about 140 km (87 mi) northwest of Tokyo.

[2] This Tanabatake archaeological site (棚畑遺跡, Tanabateke Iseki) revealed the vestiges of a village of 149 houses, 146 of which date from the middle Jōmon period.