Traditional Japanese clay doll, Tenjin

Tsuchi ningyo are dolls made of clay, produced in the past in many places in Japan. Created in relatively simple shapes, they were manually painted with vivid colors and delicate decorations.

At the end of Edo and beginning of Meiji period there were 150 places in Japan producing these dolls, but later the number fell to 40. They are still produced today, being sold as souvenirs and art objects, because many of them feature specific local elements.

Photographed here is a clay doll from the Aichi prefecture representing Tenjin, the kami of scholarship and learning.