Description
Japan’s prehistoric hunter-gatherers made intricate clay figurines. This one has large eyes resembling snow goggles worn by the Inuit people to protect their eyes from sunlight reflecting off ice and snow. However, scholars are unsure what these goggle-like eyes truly represent. The wide hips suggest the figurine was likely created as a talisman for safe childbirth.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
September 21, 2026