Also known as “yanagi” or “willow dolls,” Kamo ningyo are lighthearted and playful; most are figures of everyday people doing everyday things. Groups of dolls, such as these, were also made. The main identifying characteristics of the earliest examples of Kamo dolls are their small size (from less than one inch to 4 inches tall, or 3 to 10 cm tall) and their happy facial expressions. The oldest dolls have narrow triangular eyes, a tipped-up nose, a smiling mouth with a V-shaped lower lip, and the red/orange crepe and green brocade used for their costumes. Their eyebrows and hair are painted with sumi ink.

Kamo dolls were strictly regional, made only at the Upper Kamo, or Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. Originally made in the first half of the eighteenth century by priests or craftsmen in the service of the shrine, the dolls were sold as souvenirs and charms at festival time. The festive mood is echoed in the smiling, friendly faces, an identifying feature of Kamo ningyo. Their development is ascribed to one Takahashi Tadashige (ca. 1736-40), a craftsman employed at the Kamo Shrine, who made the dolls from pieces of willow wood left over from making ritual objects and scraps of brocade and silk used for shrine festivals. Use of these sacred materials conferred special blessings. Also, willow wood was plentiful because willow trees grew abundantly on the banks of the Kamo River. Kamo dolls are, in fact, small wooden statues of which the head, hands and feet are carved and left in the natural wood color, the features delicately painted. The body is then clothed by a technique called “kimekomi,” loosely translated meaning “push (textile) into wood to form a pattern.” The contours of the clothing are incised in the wooden figure and then covered with different kinds of textiles, which are lightly glued and tightly pushed into the cuts, thus forming the different layers and designs of the clothes.

In the early nineteenth century, a descendant of Takahashi Tadashige also created very fine dolls of slightly different character. Using the same materials and technique, he made naturalistic and dramatic full-length figures with long faces. Today, many kimekomi dolls of 20th century origin are found at temple fairs and antique markets, but true Kamo dolls with unfinished wood faces are something of a rarity. The late Lea Baten, a renowned Japanese doll authority, describes their rarity on pages 40-41 of her book JAPANESE DOLLS: THE IMAGE AND THE MOTIF: “It is to be noted that real Kamo dolls are all wood, with clothes made by the kimekomi technique, that they are extremely rare and only to be found in private collections and museums such as the Kyoto National Museum, which has a representative collection of these dolls.”

Hina Matsuri is a March 3rd festival that honors girls with an elaborate display of dolls of the imperial court set up in their homes on a stepped display stand covered with red fabric. The topmost step of the display holds the emperor and empress. This wooden pair is a most unusual representation of the dairi-bina genre. They are similar in appearance to nara ningyo, which are Japanese dolls made from hinoki cypress wood carved using a technique called “itto-bori” or one-knife carving.

The Boys’ Day Festival, called “Tango-no-Sekku,” is celebrated in Japan on May 5th. On that day, young boys were reminded of their duty to their country and of their absolute loyalty to the emperor. During the Edo period, samurai would display banners, armor and dolls representing famous historical and legendary heroes. Musha ningyo were not made as toys to be played with but to be admired from a distance and respected. Ojin became a popular figure in his own right during the Meiji period. The 15th Emperor of Japan, Ojin is said to have lived from 201-310 A.D. In 712 a temple was built in his honor, and he became the patron God of War for the Minamoto clan (the first Shogun family).

Takeda ningyo have been considered as one of the most original manifestations of the Japanese doll maker’s art. They were inspired by actors, as evidenced by their theatrical and dynamic poses and extremely expressive, sensitively modeled and painted faces. Heads, hands and feet were set at sharp and exaggerated angles to give the impression of movement. This dynamic and eccentric pose, known as a “mie,” is the most striking component of a Takeda ningyo. The original stands for these dolls were characteristically decorated in black lacquer with a cut-out decorative painted reserve called “kozama.” (A similar figure is shown for sale in the Sotheby's Japanese and Korean Works of Art auction catalogues, New York, September 21, 2000, Lot No. 50.)

Yusoku-bina took as their premise that the hina figures should be attired in "correct" court dress. Relying on the yusoku manuals for court etiquette and dress, a new and more subdued form of hina doll emerged in the 18th century, one that adhered closely to the tastes and aesthetics of the elite of that time period. The long braid of the empress is typical of this genre, as is this simpler headpiece and puffed hair around her face. (See “Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll” by Alan Pate for similar imperial pairs.)