The elegant and brave clay doll, known as the Yokozuna of the East

The"TsutsumiDolls,"alongwithKyoto's"FushimiDolls,"areconsideredtwoofthemajororiginsofJapaneseclaydolls,influencingotherssuchasthe"HanamakiDolls"fromIwateandthe"MiharuDolls"fromFukushimaThe"TsutsumiDolls,"createdbypottersfromTsutsumimachi,whowerecommissionedbytheSendaidomain,werebornastheirwintercraftsmanshipWiththeirrefinedanddignifiedappearance,thesedollshavebecomewidelyrecognizedasoneofJapan'srepresentativeclaydolls

InspiredbythemesfromtheEdoperiod,suchastheUkiyoedepictionsofKabukiin"Takinobori,""NekohikiOiran"inspiredbycourtesans,and"Tanikaze,"thesumowrestlerfromtheSendaidomainTheirdelicateexpressionsincludingsubtlehandmovementsandgracefulposturesleavealastingimpressionOneofthefeaturesofTsutsumiDollsistheir"redcolor"Atthetime,therareimporteddye"Suo"wasusedtocolorthedollsToday,pigmentsareused,butthetechniqueofapplyingthevividredcolorremainsalastingtraditionFromtraditionaldesignsinspiredbyUkiyoetomodernmotifs,avarietyofworkscontinuetodelightviewers