Akabeko
Encyclopedia
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
from the Aizu
Aizu
is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...
region of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The toy is made from two pieces of papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
-covered wood, shaped and painted to look like a red cow
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
or ox. One piece represents the cow's head and neck and the other its body. The head and neck hangs from a string and fits into the hollow body. When the toy is moved, the head thus bobs up and down and side to side.
Aizu legend claims that the toys are based on a real cow that lived in the 9th century and showed its devotion to Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
by willing its soul away or by refusing to leave the site of a temple it had helped to construct. The earliest akabeko toys were created in the late 16th or early 17th century. Over time, people came to believe that the toys could ward off smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
and other illnesses. Akabeko has become one of Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
's most famous crafts and a symbol of the Aizu region.
Origin
According to an Aizu-area legend recorded by Thomas Madden, akabeko toys are based on a real cow that lived in AD 807. At that time, a monk named Tokuichi was supervising the construction of Enzō-ji, a temple in YanaizuYanaizu, Fukushima
is a town located in Kawanuma District, Fukushima, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 4,434 and a population density of 25.18 persons per km². The total area is 176.07 km²....
. Upon the temple's completion, a red ox
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
that had been used to haul timber to the site gave its spirit to Buddha, and its flesh immediately turned to stone. Another version of the tale claims that the cow instead refused to leave the temple grounds after construction had been completed and became a permanent fixture there. The red cow was called and became a symbol of zealous devotion to the Buddha.
Akabeko toys date to the late 16th or early 17th century. Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
had solidified his power over Japan, and he sent his representative, Gamō Ujisato
Gamo Ujisato
was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. The heir and son of Gamō Katahide, lord of Hino Castle in Ōmi Province, he later held Matsusaka and finally Aizuwakamatsu Castle in Mutsu Province...
, to be the lord of the Aizu region in 1590. At his new post, Ujisato heard the story of akabeko and ordered his court artisans, who had accompanied him from Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, to create a toy based on the red cow. These early papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
akabeko introduced most of the basic elements for which the toy is known.
In the same period, Japan suffered a smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
outbreak. People in Aizu noticed that children who owned akabeko toys did not seem to catch the illness. The akabeko's red color may have enhanced this association, since red amulets are thought to protect against that illness. Akabeko toys became very popular as charms to ward off sickness, a superstition that persists in modern times. The toy has since become one of the few crafts from Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
to be known all over Japan and a symbol of the Aizu area.
Production
Akabeko are made from papier-mâchéPapier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
that is painted and lacquer
Lacquer
In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...
ed. The toy consists of two main pieces: the body, and the head and neck. The body is hollow and open on one end. The neck and head fit into this opening, suspended from a piece of string. Whenever the akabeko is moved or jostled, its head bobs up and down and side to side.
Akabeko are made by fewer than a dozen family-run workshops, whose members have passed down the technique for generations. The process takes about 10 days to complete. The artisan begins by wrapping wetted washi
Washi
is a type of paper made in Japan. Washi is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub , or the paper mulberry, but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat...
(Japanese paper) around two blocks of wood, one shaped like the cow's body, and the other shaped like the head and neck. These blocks have often been used for several generations. Once the paper dries, the artisan splits it in two lengthwise and removes the wooden blocks. The craftsperson then rejoins the pieces of molded paper by wrapping more layers of washi around them.
The artisan paints the toy, beginning with black, then adding the characteristic red, and finally the white eyes and other details. The akabeko's markings vary from workshop to workshop. For example, the Igarashi family paints the Chinese character
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
kotobuki (寿 longevity and luck) on the cow's back and a sun and moon on its side; other workshops add gold markings. The artisan finishes the toy with a thin coat of lacquer.