✳︎Name: Kochi Prefecture Folk Toy, Old-Style Whaling Boat, Kujira-guruma (Whale Cart) ✳︎Condition: Used (No box or instruction manual) ✳︎Size: 4″L × 14″W × 4″ H cm A folk toy passed down in Tosa, Kochi Prefecture. Faithfully reproduces the form of the "Sekobune" (pursuit boat) which played a role in driving whales and entangling them with nets in the traditional whaling that has been passed down since the Edo period. The characteristic upward-curving line of the bow evokes a sense of speed cutting through rough waves, and it is a wooden toy of just the right size with colors full of southern charm, beautifully deforming the functional beauty of the actual boat. The finely hand-carved surfaces are also beautiful, and although it is a small piece, it is a worthwhile item. It is a motif of old whaling boats, and until about 100 years ago, it was made by fishermen and others and became a toy for children. ◉⤵︎Search terms below Kochi Mingei Sha Tokichi Okabayashi Mansuke Hamamoto #FolkToy #TraditionalCraft #Mingei (Japanese folk craft) #WoodenToy #Antiques Kumano Kodo Southern Kii Peninsula Kumano Sanzan (Three Grand Shrines of Kumano) Kumano Hongu Taisha Kumano Hayatama Taisha Kumano Nachi Taisha Wakayama Prefecture Whaling Boat Kujira-guruma (Whale Cart) Whale Boat Ogura Family Whaling Ship Whaling Prayer for Abundant Harvest Folk Toy Souvenir Lucky Charm Exorcism Tori-no-ichi (Rooster Market) Superstition National Small Folk Toy Craft Lucky Can Fortune Bringer New Year's Eve and New Year's Day New Year's Day Zodiac Decoration Life with Old Tools Mingei (Japanese folk craft) Traditional Craft folktoy Folk Toy casabrutus Komyata Matsushita