Fukuoka Prefecture Products Exhibition

Hakata Ningyo dolls allow you to feel the original warmth of the clay in the unglazed bisque coloring. Its appearance can be beautiful, fierce, sometimes funny, while giving off a gentle aura. And the craftsman gives it a soul, with an appearance so life like that you expect it to start moving at any moment. Beginning with the “genkei,” or prototype, which is made through repeating the concept and drawing and which decides the form of the doll, to the “saishiki,” which is the coloring of the doll, “menso” which gives facial expression, etc. the Hakata Ningyo doll is the crystallization of superior skill and generous labor.

Hakataori cloth has a history of more than 770 years. It is said that its roots are from the Hakata merchants who brought the technique back with them from Song Dynasty China. The characteristic thick, tightly woven cloth is made by driving strong weft threads into many warp threads and has continued to be loved as the cloth used in obi sashes for kimono and yukata (cotton summer kimono) since long ago. In 1600, this special fabric was chosen by the first lord of the Chikuzen Fukuoka clan as an offering to the shogun. Because of this history, even now, the traditional pattern of Hakataori cloth is called “Kenjo-gara,” meaning “offering pattern,” and, as a symbolic pattern of the Hakata area, you can see it used in various places around town.