Traditional Japanese Toys Postcard

These twelve images are taken from Unai no tomo (“Friends of Children”), a ten-volume catalog of traditional Japanese toys created by Shimizu Seifū (1851–1913) and published between 1891 and 1923. It brings together hundreds of woodblock prints depicting toys (omocha) and dolls (ningyō) derived from amulets and talismans rooted in Shinto tradition and Japanese folklore. Boxed devil-chickens, wheeled whales, magnetic mice, clay sumo wrestlers, pop guns, hobby horses, and sound-making toys are all regarded by collectors and historians as invaluable testimonies to Japan’s history, culture, religion, and family life.