Hakata dolls are clay toys from Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture. The name “Hakata ningyo” was given to the dolls when they were exhibited at the 3rd National Industrial Exhibition in 1890 (Meiji 23); before that, they were simply called mud dolls or clay figures. The common belief is that Soshichi Masaki founded the doll during the Keicho era (1596-1615), but recent research indicates that he was a potter and not a doll maker. The originator of Hakata dolls was Kichibei, a son of Koyasubei, a Shichirin-yaki potter of the same period as Soshichi IV, who learned the art of carving from Makiyuken Nakamura Toshiharu early on and made his first clay doll toys. He was succeeded by his son Kichisaburo and his cousins Hakusui Rokuemon and Matsuo Bunemon, who eventually paved the way for today’s Hakata dolls. Kibei died in September 1856 at the age of 60. In 1932, the total production of Hakata dolls was 425,000 yen, and the number of dolls made by 152 households was 152. The total production value was 425,000 yen, and there were 152 manufacturing households. (History of Japanese Ceramics in the Early Modern Period, Japan’s Local Toys, Chawan, 49)
