A basket on a dog's head is a pun, and the pun is a wish.
A white papier-mache puppy, given when a child is born and carried to the shrine at the first visit.
Dogs were said to whelp easily and to raise their young without fuss, so the toy stands for an easy birth and a child who grows without trouble.
A form shaped like a sitting puppy, low and round.
Layers of washi, then dried in the sun.
Split off the form and closed again.
White ground, red ears, and a bamboo-and-basket mark for a healthy child.
A small bamboo colander is usually set on its head. The usual explanation is a pun: the bamboo radical written above the character for dog gives the character for laughter — a wish for a life with a good deal of it. The holes in the basket are also said to let the child see through anything false.
Almost every one is white, because white is what you give at a beginning.
City work, not village work. Edo papier-mâché was made in the back streets for people who lived in rented rooms and had no space for anything large.
Pieces are found one at a time, in Japan, and photographed before they are listed. Tell us what you are looking for, and we will write when something arrives that answers it.
We write when there is something to write about — some months twice, some months not at all.
Noted. We will write when something arrives.