Goten Toys    Animals

Edo period (1603–1868)            Homma Museum of Art Collection

Typically crafted from papier-mâché, goten toys were favoured by children of the nobility, feudal lords and wealthy merchants. They were luxury items intricately painted with fine oyster-shell pigments, and even the larger examples were often small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. Most of the animals depicted here are dogs, but included in the mix here are a cat and a rabbit.