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three drums stacked in alternating positions, each with a string and striking bead attached, tripling the noise potential.

      The denden-taiko appears to have been a particularly popular children's toy in the urban centers of Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto and features prominently in many woodblock prints depicting children and their pastimes. A Horeki-era (1751-63) lullaby goes:

Nenne no omori wa dokoe itta	Where did the babysitter go?
Ano yama koete sato e itta	Over the mountain to visit her home.
Sato no omiyagi nani moratta	What did she bring back as a souvenir?
A Denden-taiko ni shō nojue	A denden-taiko and a flute,
Oki agari kobōshi ni furizutsumi	round Daruma doll and a hand drum.
Tataite kikasuni nenne shina	I will play it for you.
Nennen nen nen koroi	Go to sleep, go to sleep.

      As with many Japanese toys, the denden-taiko and other drum forms had close associations with shrines and were held to have special protective powers. During the Meiji era, it became common for a child to receive a clay dog with a denden-taiko attached to its back during his or her first visit to a shrine. In Fukuoka Prefecture, for example, a toy drum called a batabata (an onomatopoeic name) is decorated with the images of popular children's heroes. It is sold at shrine and temple fairs around New Year and is seen as a charm against illness and misfortune. In Tochigi Prefecture, a simple bean drum with a small paper figure attached to the top is derived from a local rain drum tradition.

      The gosho-ningyō on page 31 holds aloft in his left hand a three-tiered denden-taiko. Though seated, his form is slightly twisted, with his upper body moving to the left and his head looking to the right. The top of his hair is bare, exposing a small, oblong patch of gofun in imitation of a nakasori hairstyle. The bib bears embroidered takaramono (treasure) images, including the tama (wish-fulfilling gem), the money mallet, crossed rhinoceros horn prized for their fertility, a market weight, and a coin.

      Mizuhiki-de Gosho

      One of the particular characteristics of the gosho form when compared to other ningyō genres is its three-part construction (mitsuwari), where the head, the legs, and the arms form almost three equal sections of the overall piece. Compared to real life, this makes the head much larger than what would be considered "normal," hence the name zudai or "large head" ningyō, which was a common name for gosho-ningyō during the Edo period. This aspect is further strengthened by the relatively small facial features placed close together at the center of the broad expanse of the face.

      Beginning in the late eighteenth century, gosho-ningyō that were crafted and presented as formal or celebratory gifts (iwaimono) were frequently executed with a presentation ribbon painted on the forehead. Called a mizuhiki ("water drawing"), these ribbons were executed in such a way as to appear tied to the forelock of the gosho's hair. Even when silk fiber or real hair was employed for the side hair, topknot, or back locks, the portions of the hair depicted with a presentation ribbon remain painted. Gosho-ningyō with these ribbons are referred to as mizuhiki-de gosho. This design was based on the practice of tying red and white paper tie cords around gifts for formal occasions. The phrase "water drawing" symbolizes an element of purification, or that the gifts have been blessed before presentation. Some authors have traced this tradition in ningyō to the Kyoto-based gosho-ningyō maker Omokichi, who was active during the Bunka-Bunsei eras, corresponding to the years 1804-29. However, a number of figures which have been reliably dated to the late eighteenth century also bear the mizuhiki mark which calls into question this early nineteenth-century date. Interestingly, the use of mizuhiki appears to have been restricted to the gosho and inu-bako (dog box) forms and rarely appears in other ningyō genres.

      Mizuhiki-de gosho

       Edo period, 19th century

       Height 14 inches

       Rosen Collection

      The seated gosho-ningyō depicted on pages 32-3 is constructed of a dense wood. Its weight suggests that it might be fashioned out of something other than the classic kiri (paulownia) wood typically employed in ningyō construction. Its large head, heavy arms, and full legs give it the quintessential mitsuwari feel described above. The head is tilted slightly upward and is topped by an elaborately painted mizuhiki presentation ribbon. A small lock of hair also tied with a ribbon is present at the nape of his neck. Unlike most gosho-ningyō, this particular image is not sexed. Rather, the haragake bib functions as a padded codpiece, with no sculptural form beneath. His sleeveless outer jacket is executed in a green chirimen silk crepe with a resist-dyed shōchikubai ("three friends of winter") motif of bamboo, pine, and plum. Additional gold-wrapped thread embroidery is used to highlight the leaves and blossoms as well as the snow-covered bamboo fence design. Following a trend that became quite common during the early nineteenth century, his fingernails and toenails are edged in red. His attribute is missing, so it is impossible to know what symbol he might have carried in his hands. The shōchikubai motif so elegantly depicted on his outer jacket and repeated in gold-wrapped thread embroidery on his haragake was generally used in the Edo period to convey a sense of auspiciousness rather than a specific theme, which might help us to deduce the missing element.

      Seated Gosho-ningyō with Dog

      As is true in many cultures around the world, the dog holds a special place in traditional Japanese society Protector, hunting partner, companion, the dog has fulfilled many roles throughout Japanese history. Symbolically, dogs have long been linked to fertility. They have also functioned as a protective spirit for the home and as a talisman against illness for children. Folk tales surrounding dogs abound, from the dog that aided Momotarō in his campaign against the ogres, to the tale of Hanasaka-jiji and the dog that led him to untold treasures. In the political realm, dogs even received special status under Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709). Nicknamed the "Dog Shogun," Tsunayoshi, under the influence of a Buddhist monk who strongly impressed upon him the Buddhist proscription against killing, enacted laws in 1694 forbidding the killing of any animal, including dogs. As a result, stray dogs multiplied rapidly, and totaled nearly 50,000 in Edo alone before Tsunayoshi's death in 1709 when the decree was rescinded.

      The dog has also left a strong imprint on Japanese material culture. Dogs in sculptural form date back as far as the Jōmon period (12000-250 BC), where simple clay images of dogs and the presence of dog burial sites indicate their importance to this early culture. Beginning in the Heian period, the entrances to Buddhist temples were often flanked by koma-inu (Korean lion-dogs) which served to protect them from the approach of evil. In popular culture, paper images of dogs were placed on doors to ward off fire and theft. Similarly, an ideograph for dog was frequently placed on a child's head or attached to his clothing to protect him from evil. Spirit dogs (inugami) were said to aid individuals in achieving their goals, functioning as a familiar. At Hokkeji in Nara, the oldest continuously produced Buddhist charm is a clay dog (omamori-inu), said to help in childbirth, a custom believed to date from the time of Empress Kōmyō (701-60).

      Within ningyō, the dog was frequently depicted in Saga form, seated beside a small boy, or, in one famous example, as an independent subject. Records indicate that in 1595, Tokugawa leyasu (1542-1616), founder of the Tokugawa shōgunate, commissioned two dolls from Eya Utanosuke, who delivered a mechanical drummer and a boy with a dog on a leash. Dogs also featured prominently among elegant papier mâché figures called goten gangu (palace toys), used as playthings within court circles. Usually depicting a standing puppy with a tightly curled tail and short floppy ears, the figure would be covered in gofun with painted designs on the sides. Similar construction techniques were employed in making another class

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