dogū

Some scholars theorize the dogū acted as effigies of people, that manifested some kind of sympathetic magic.{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Kokushi Daijiten |title=土偶 |url=http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |access-date=2012-07-21 |year=2012 |publisher=Shogakukan |location=Tokyo |language=ja |trans-title=Dogū |oclc=683276033 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |archive-date=2007-08-25 }} For example, it may have been believed that illnesses could be transferred into the dogū, which were then destroyed, clearing the illness, or any other misfortune.{{Cite journal|last1 =Insolla|first1 =Timothy|title=The new hakodate jomon culture center, minamikayabe, japan|journal = Material Religion|volume =8|issue =2|pages =262–264|doi =10.2752/175183412X13346797480439|year =2012|s2cid =194105701}}

Dogū are made of clay and are small, typically 10 to 30 cm high. Most of the figurines appear to be modeled as female, and have big eyes, small waists, and wide hips. They are considered by many to be representative of goddesses. Many have large abdomens associated with pregnancy, suggesting that the Jomon considered them mother goddesses. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, these figurines "suggest an association with fertility and shamanistic rites".{{cite web |title=Timeline of Art History: Japan, 2000–1000 B.C. |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/03/eaj.html |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=5 August 2022}}

The dogū tend to have large faces, small arms and hands and compact bodies. Some appear to wear goggles or have "heart-shaped" faces. Most have marks on the face, chest and shoulders, that suggest tattooing and probable incision with bamboo.Takayama (1970) "Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia", p.76-77Arnold Rubin (1988) "Marks of civilization: artistic transformations of the human body", p.111-113Margo DeMello(1992) "Encyclopedia of Body Adornment", p.167

• "Heart-shaped (or crescent-shaped eyebrow)" figurine
• "Horned-owl type" figurine{{Cite web|url=http://sitereports.nabunken.go.jp/11828|title=上境旭台貝塚３|last=Public interest Ibaraki education foundation Foundation|date=2013|website=Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan|access-date=2016-09-01}}
• "Goggle-eyed type" (shakōkidogū) figurine
• "Pregnant woman type" figurine

File:Figurine Dogu Jomon Musée Guimet 70608 3.jpg|Dogū figurine, Jomon. Musée Guimet (70608 3).

File:Dogū of Jōmon Venus.JPG|Jōmon Venus, National Treasure of Japan, Togariishi Jōmon Archeological Museum.

Image:Stone statue, late Jomon period.JPG) (1000–400 BC), "goggle-eyed type" figurine. Tokyo National Museum, Japan.]]

The {{nihongo|Shakōkidogū|遮光器土偶}}, or "goggle-eyed dogū{{-"}}, were created in the Jōmon era, and are so well known that when most Japanese hear the term dogū, this is the image that comes to mind.{{cn|date=November 2023}} The name shakōki (literally "light-blocking device") comes from the resemblance of the figures' eyes to traditional Inuit snow goggles. Another distinguishing feature of the objects are the exaggerated female buttocks, chest and thighs.{{cite journal | last1 = Nakajima | first1 = Toshio | year = 1943 | script-title=ja:石器時代土偶の乳房及び下腹部膨隆に就いて |trans-title=On the breasts and swollen hips of stone age dōgu | journal =Jinruigaku Zasshi | volume = 58 | issue = 7 | pages = 294–295 | location = Tōkyō | publisher = Tōkyō Jinrui Gakkai | language = ja | format = PDF | access-date = July 21, 2012 | url = https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase1911/58/7/58_7_287/_pdf}} Furthermore, the abdomen is covered with patterns, many of which seem to have been painted with vermilion. The larger figures are hollow.

Unbroken figures are rare, and most are missing an arm, leg or other body part. In many cases, the parts have been cut off.

These types of dogū have been found in the Kamegaoka Site in Tsugaru, Aomori Prefecture; the Teshiromori Site in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture; the Ebisuda Site in Tajiri, Miyagi Prefecture; and the Izumisawa Kaizuka Site in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. All the sites listed have been designated as Important Cultural Properties.

• Haniwa, similar figures from the Kofun period
• National Treasures of Japan
• Tokyo National Museum
• Venus figurine, a type of figure found in archeological cultures throughout the world
• Zuijin
• Baltoy and Claydol: Pokémon that are based on Dogū.

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• Shakkoumon, A Digimon based off the Shakōkidogū.

{{notelist}}

{{Commons category|Dogū}}

• [http://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en Tokyo National Museum]
• [http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/english/index.html The National Museum of Japanese History]
• [http://sitereports.nabunken.go.jp/en Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan], Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927185317/http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dm2k-umdb/umdb/DG Dogū from the Jōmon period, a photographic imagery database]—Tokyo University, Japan {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722233141/http://metropolis.co.jp/arts/art-reviews/the-power-of-dogu/ Review of recent exhibition of Dogū at the Tokyo National Museum]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091204142641/http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/museum_in_london/london_exhibition_archive/the_power_of_dogu.aspx British Museum exhibition] of Dogū from Japanese museums, 2009

{{Japanese ceramics}}

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Category:Archaeological artefact types

Category:Japanese dolls

Category:Japanese pottery

Category:Japanese historical terms

Category:Jōmon period