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Whereas in other cultures a doll is usually perceived as merely an
inanimate object, for the Japanese people the doll is generally connected
spiritually, psychologically and fundamentally on a deeper level. Says Pate:
By most Western definitions, the word “doll” implies an object that is intended to
be played with…. Webster defines “doll” as “a small model of a human figure…
used as a child’s toy”. It is this basic and almost intrinsic ludic function embedded
in the word that makes the English word “doll” such an unsatisfactory translation
for the Japanese word “ningyō”. 75
The attitude in Japan towards dolls differs, and has traditionally differed,
from the Western notion of the Toy, made all the more significant in terms
of treatment.
The impulse to treat dolls as real children rather than mere toys is and
was reinforced by the uncanny realism, historically, of Japanese dolls,
especially those created not for display but to be held, known as ichimatsu-
ningyō. Up until perhaps the later twentieth century, when Western dolls also
began to take the shape of hyper-realistic babies, this aspect between life-like
ichimatsu-ningyō and Western dolls was incomparable.
Hearn explained the affect of ichimatsu-ningyō in 1894:
The beautiful life-size dolls representing children of two or three years; real toy
babies… become under the handling of a Japanese girl infinitely more interesting.
Such dolls are… so life-like… that… the best eyes might be deceived by them. 76
Acknowledging this observation, Pate says that:
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