The Japanese dolls and traditional toys have their long history and they have their own peculiarity. The Japanese Embassy organized an exhibition of the Japanese dolls and traditional toys, the first of its kind, to make visitors aware of them.

"In Japan, dolls have been a part of everyday life since ancient times.  Japanese dolls reflect the customs of Japan and the aspirations of its people, possess distinctive regional attributes, and over the centuries have developed in many diverse forms. Originally dolls were basically used in purification rituals.  Even today, shrines in Japan conduct divine purification ceremonies using paper dolls to wash away all evil and bad luck and to assist prayers for good luck," said Japanese ambassador to Nepal Kunio Takahashi.

 With enrichment of culture, dolls were used as toys by children of noble families.  They became more and more beautiful and developed into sublime of art.  Dolls are also combined with Japanese technology. The exhibition introduces Mr. Hisashige Tanaka, 1799, who invented amazing mechanical dolls called “Karakuri Dolls” which moved without electricity - only with strings and springs. Visitors can see his excellent craftsmanship and ideas on DVD. It will not be an exaggeration to mention here that Karakuri dolls are the origins of robots, the foundation of a modern technology.  Tanaka is one of the founders of TOSHIBA, the world-class Japanese electronics company.

In the exhibition, Japanese traditional toys, of contemporary art form and traditional culture, are some of the highlights.  It was hoped that the visitors would enjoy Japanese beauty and spirit through this exhibition.