KIJI-GURUMA (male and female, 1 pair) small

Description

• Please note that this is an old item, so some dust stains, age spots and scratches are part of the charm of old tools.
• Please note that it is sensitive to water.
• Please check the condition of used items with the pictures in advance. If you have any questions, please be sure to contact us before purchase.
• No returns after purchase. Please make your purchase after careful consideration.

Kiji-guruma is a local toy of Miyama City, Fukuoka Prefecture. The materials used are red pine for the body and bamboo for the axle. The body is made with a single machete called a “sento” and then painted. The patterns are different: red and green for the male and black and red for the female.
The origin of the kiji-guruma is said to come from a legend that around 806, when the great teacher Dengyo Daishi returned from Tang Dynasty China, he was led to the mountain where Kiyomizu Temple is located in present-day Miyama City, and when he lost his way, a pheasant guided him along the way. The prototype was made more than 150 years ago, during the Bunsei Era (1818-1830), by Ryuan Houshi, the abbot of Kiyomizu-dera Temple at that time, who instructed Kahei Inoue, a temple carpenter, to make it, and it became popular as a toy and a good luck charm for good luck, marriage, and family happiness. It also became well known throughout Japan when it was used in a poem by Kitahara Hakushu (a poet, poet, and children’s song writer), who was born in Kumamoto Prefecture.
There are various types of unique wheeled toys found throughout Kyushu, including kiji-guruma, kiji-uma, and uzura-guruma, and it has been confirmed that there are approximately 30 production sites in Oita and Kumamoto, including both existing and defunct ones.