Japanese dolls

There are various types of traditional dolls, some representing children and babies, some the imperial court, warriors and heroes, fairy-tale characters, gods and (rarely) demons, and also people of the daily life of Japanese cities.

There may be a continuity in the making of the dogū (土偶), humanoid figures, by the ancient Jōmon culture in Japan (8000–200 BC), which were associated with fertility or shamanistic rites, at a time when dolls were thought to have souls.

In the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period, several types of dolls had already been defined, as known from Lady Murasaki's novel The Tale of Genji.

During the Edo period (1603–1867), when Japan was closed to most trade, there developed both fine dollmakers and a market of wealthy individuals who would pay for the most beautiful doll sets for display in their homes or as valuable gifts.

The competitive trade was eventually regulated by government, meaning that doll makers could be arrested or banished for breaking laws on materials and height.

[citation needed] Homes and shops put up traditionally-clothed dolls of various sizes, set on a red dais, around 3rd March for the festival of Hinamatsuri.

Full versions include 15 dolls and apparatus such as utensils for Japanese tea ceremony (茶の湯, cha no yu).

With the end of the Edo period and the advent of the modern Meiji era in the late 1800s, the art of doll-making changed as well: Japanese dolls are broken down into several subcategories.

[7] Famous well known collectors from the West include individuals such as James Tissot (1836–1902), Jules Adeline (1845–1909), Eloise Thomas (1907–1982), and Samuel Pryor (1898–1985).

His collections included kosode-style kimono, paintings, bronze, ceramics, screens and a number of bijin-ningyō (dolls from the late Edo period).