Historical information

Good luck dolls usually given to engaged couples but occasionally give to Japanese soldiers prior to deploying.

Physical description

Takasago dolls or, in English, Darby and Joan dolls. They are a set, the brighter one being an old lady, the other an old man. They were used as engagement presents, but during the war, they were sometimes (actually maybe rarely) given to soldiers as good luck charms, or ‘mamori’. They were said to be lucky as they contained the stitching (sewing) of 1000 ladies, ‘senninbari’ (a thousand ‘peoples’ needles). So mate, the original theory is probably correct. The soldier would have wrapped these dolls in water proof paper (made using persimmon tannin or kakishiba).He would have kept them around his waist in a waist band, called an obi or perhaps a ‘haramaki’ (a knitted stomach band).Anyway the dollls should remain together. I’m wondering if there are any messages inside? But if they are completely stitched closed, then they should remain that way. The Takasago dolls originated in Takasago City in Hyogo Prefecture, hence the name.But later they were made everywhere