Ponpachi Hair Comb by Koubou Miyaji

About Koubou Miyaji
Folk toys have been sold at the Kagoshima Shrine for longer than anyone can recall. The shrine itself has an association with the 8th century Emperor Jinmu of semi-legend.

The items made in the small workshop adjacent to the shrine: Koubou Miyaji, are connected to Jinmu mythical back story, and with festivities in the calendar. There are three main items. Wheeled wooden fish, which in legend once ate the magic hook of Yamasachi-hiko (the grandfather of Jinmu).

There are also Kobako boxes as were once the property of  Jinmu's grandmother Toyotama-hime, herself the daughter of Watatsumi, deity of the sea. For the horse festival early each year, there are small portable drums known colloquially as ponpachi.

In Japanese religions, gods can be everywhere, and both a benevolent and malevolent presence. It is as well to play with them. And hence the enduring tradition of handmade folk toys. Their bright designs and forms, say something about the communities in which they were made.

Size : 21.5x6cm / Weight:4g