And a fine day it is. Received in a decorative box. These wooden handcrafted toys from Japan.
Made of soft pine, these block doweling are quite light. The angle of slope is the same for each though the facing are different. A dowel connects both wheels through another dowel with the centre drilled out. The red one’s wheels were burred on the edges though.
Instructions that came with the box.
the label on the box
It is quite easy to understand that these toys are meant run down a slope. What is amazing is the artwork painted on each piece.
This wonderful woodcraft is rarely seen here. Simplistic in design no doubt centuries old. (Thes e quail racers date back to 700 AD.) Still the parallels between Haidi Indian art and this is astonishing. I wonder if a simular craft toy can be found amoung the west coast tribes would be an interesting side note.
…originally posted in bentoOTAKU July 2, 2005
