When i was visiting the toy shops in Tokyo, i saw one toy in all the shops! It wasn't hello kitty or Ben Ten or Miffy or any of thos, but little naked babies being sold in packets. These are called Kewpies! They were extremely popular and loved. I asked why it didn't have any clothes on, and the shop keeper told me in broken english, that people bought the dolls and stitched clothes for them. These came in various shapes and poses. The looked to me like the toys sold here by the local vendors for about 5 bucks each, but there a pack of 12 small kewpies cost me 1400 yen!(which was a little more than 700 indian rupees).I saw a large life size one too which was tattooed and had piercings on it!It was crazy ridiculous, and could not be left behind!I thought these could be used for my project at some point of time.
Kewpie dolls (occasionally spelled cupie) and figurines are based on comical strip-like illustrations by Rose O'Neill that appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1909. The small dolls were extremely popular in the early 1900s. They were first produced in Ohrdruf, a small town in Germany, then famous for its toy-manufacturers. They were made out of bisque and then celluloid. In 1949, Effanbee created the first hard plastic versions. Their name, often shortened to "Kewpies", is derived from "cupid". The early dolls, especially signed or bisque, are highly collectible and worth thousands of dollars. The term "Kewpie doll" is sometimes mistakenly applied to the troll doll.
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