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 Gosho Dolls
Gosho ningyo, or 'Imperial Palace' dolls, take the shape of very young children, usually, although not exclusively, boys. Most are carved of paulownia wood and then coated with several highly polished layers of gofun, a white paste made of ground shell. In the early 1600s they were used in a spiritual manner to ease pregnancy and childbirth and to ensure the safety of a child. Later, during the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868), gosho dolls were common gifts from the Imperial Court in Kyoto to visiting daimyo, regional lords, on their semiannual trip to Edo, present day Tokyo.
  
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