Epi.5-Note: Ichimatsu Doll - Traditional Japanese Doll

The Ichimatsu doll is a traditional Japanese doll.

Today, it is often treated as an interior decoration, but when it was first made, it was used as a dress-up doll.
Its history is long, going back to the late Edo period (late 18th century to early 19th century).

Over the years, the Ichimatsu doll has become the subject of many ghost stories.
The most famous tales involve its hair growing longer or the doll shedding tears.

When I was a child, these stories were often featured on TV programs about the supernatural, and I actually saw some of the footage myself.

Unfortunately, these phenomena can be explained scientifically.
In the case of the hair, the structure changes over time due to natural deterioration, making it look as though it has grown.
As for the tears, they are simply condensation.

A common theme in ghost stories is that no matter how many times you throw the doll away, it somehow finds its way back home.
For example, in Japan, there are stories of Ichimatsu dolls or stuffed animals that, even after being thrown away, are found back at the front door the next day, as if someone had placed them there.
Overseas, there is the case of Robert the Doll in Key West, Florida, which is said to have continued causing strange phenomena even after changing owners, eventually ending up in a museum.

Personally, I would like to see a detailed description of how exactly it finds its way back.
Stories like these are told in many countries around the world.

When a doll is believed to be cursed in Japan, it is usually taken to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine for a purification ritual.
Even when there is nothing supernatural about it, many people still choose to have the doll purified before parting with it, due to the Japanese belief that “a doll has a soul.”

One well-known place for doll memorial services is Mannenji Temple in Iwamizawa City, Hokkaido.
It houses a nationally famous Ichimatsu doll, often introduced as “the doll whose hair grows.”

Among shrines, Awashima Shrine in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture is particularly famous.
Its grounds and buildings are filled with dolls donated from all over Japan, and it is especially well-known for its Hina-nagashi (“Doll Floating”) ritual held during the Hina Matsuri festival.

The sight of countless dolls lined up together is truly overwhelming, serving both as an object of faith and as a tourist attraction.

Of course, there are also people who simply throw dolls away as regular garbage without worrying about such things.

As a side note, the pattern on the haori worn by Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is called “Ichimatsu pattern” (Ichimatsu moyō), but it has no direct connection to the Ichimatsu doll.
The name comes from Sanogawa Ichimatsu (1744–1803), a popular kabuki actor of the mid to late Edo period.
A pattern he wore on stage came to be known as the Ichimatsu pattern, and a theory holds that a doll modeled after a child role he played eventually came to be called the Ichimatsu doll.

Now, let me ask you, the reader: Do you find Japanese dolls scary?

Incidentally, even among Japanese people, a certain number will answer “yes.”