For some fascinating information on the mechanical puppets (pictured here) used on festival parade floats, zip over to see the Karakuri puppets. Some other examples can be found in the Merchant Town of Osu (a small village located near Nagoya) on a web page page devoted to local variants of Karakuri Ningyou ("mechanical dolls"). The National Museum of Japanese History online web site includes a photograph of a "naked" karakuri doll nicely illustrating the interior mechanics involved in animating these wooden figures.

The mechanics involved in karakuri dolls have intrigued even modern crafts people who have re-engineered the traditional mechanisms using contemporary technology and materials -- as illustrated here in plans and models from Karakuri Honzou.

An interesting introductory essay can tell you some intriguing things about the origins and history of these mechanized dolls. The Winter 2000 issue of AICHI VOICE also contains a brief and nicely illustrated interview with Shobei Tamaya, a karakuri craftsman from Nagoya, on "Wooden Robot-Dolls".

about karakuri mechanical puppets ...