Gosho-ningyo The Gosho-ningyo is a doll in shape of child who is chubby with fair skin. It was made with a wish to be given a child or for growth of a child. At the begging, the Gosho-ningyo had the proportion that its head to the height was one fifth. Later, it became one third to express the chubbiness and ampleness more. In the Edo era, there was a custom that Daimyo (a feudal lord) gave a present to the emperor as a greeting on the way to Edo (present Tokyo) for an alternate-year attendance. The emperor gave a Gosho doll in return for the present. This doll was also loved by the princesses. Because of these, the art of doll was greatly developed. At the time when everything was concentrated in Edo, only the culture of doll was flourished in Kyoto where the Imperial Place was. The doll makers carved paulownia wood and plastered them with white powder several times and scoured them with "tokusa"- a kind of fern and lastly carved the minute part. Then, they wiped them with dry cloth to get polish and drew the eye , mouth and hair on them. It is one of the most famous Japanese doll for playing and appreciation. It is also called "Ouchi -ningyo", "Hairyo-ningyo", "Omiyage-ningyo", "izukura-ningyo", or "Shiragiku -ningyo". BACK