Late Edo to Meiji period
Donated by Nakanishi Toyoko
Strikingly dignified and beautiful, this multi-tiered ‘dankazari’ doll stand features heirloom dolls belonging to the Nakanishi family of the Sakata area. The fact that the dolls vary in size and style — for example, the imperial dolls, three court ladies, and the five musicians (dairibina) are all clearly different from each other — indicates that these dolls were not originally part of a single set, but gradually purchased over the years as more children joined the Nakanishi line.