Vintage Japanese Watercolor Sketches of Toy Designs – Design You Trust

Vintage Japanese Watercolor Sketches of Toy Designs

The Ningyo-Do Bunko database features thousands of late 19th and early 20th Century watercolor sketches of Japanese toy designs. More can be seen at Japan’s Akita Prefectural Library, which holds a series of six toy design illustration books produced between 1891 and 1913 by Yamada of Kyoto.

These sketches of various folk toy designs [kyoudo gangu] are part of a layer of Japanese culture that is very self-consciously regional, notes Paul K at BibliOdyssey . A lot of them are linked somehow to local shrines and temples.

h/t: flashbak














































If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

Artist's Incredible Hand-Painted Clay Sculptures Look Like Whimsical Illustrations
Retro Arcade Game Ads from the 70s and 80s: A Nostalgic Look at the Cheesy Marketing of the Past
Astonishing Sand Sculptures by Andoni Bastarrika That Will Make You Do a Double Take
You Will Be Amazed By This Super Cool Looking Land Rover Defender D90 'Retro Vibes'
Artist Embeds Giant Neon Orange Monolith Into Coachella Valley's Desert Landscape
"How Do You Feed Spirits?": These Haunting Sculptures Of Children Will Send Chills Down Your Spine
2017 Color Of The Year Is Greenery According To PANTONE
This Russian Guy Left Uni To Make Superhero Masks That Wowed Hollywood
Beautiful Portrait Photos of Actress Jan Smithers in the 1960s and ’70s
Still Life in 1960s New York in Beautiful Memorabilia Photographs by Evelyn Hofer
Sea Monkeys, X-Ray Specs, and the Twisted Secret Behind Vintage Ads from American Comic Books
This Artist Creates Baroque And Gothic Wall Mounts Out Of Taxidermied Spiders
Incredible Living Sculpture In The Lost Gardens Of Heligan Changes Its Appearance With The Seasons
Artist Creates Intricately Patterned Artworks by Delicately Stitching Colourful Threads Into Leaves
Hungarian Artist Creates Detailed Steampunk Spiders Out of Various Mechanical Parts
There Are Now 3D Printing Spurs That You Can Attach To The Back Of Your Crocs
The Father’s Nursing Assistant: Japanese Device Allows Fathers To Breastfeed Their Babies
Japanese Photographer Tantan Turns A Rainy Night In NYC Into A Dreamy Wonderland
Man Develops 120-Year-Old Photos Of Cats Discovered Inside A Time Capsule
Irish Artist Makes Magnificent Surreal Masks That Speak To Modern Concerns
Nostalgic Photos Show Fashion Styles of Young People in the 1980s
A Car For The Jet Age: Cool Pics Of The 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket
Cuddle Up To This Sexy Daikon Pillow That’s Just Waiting To Seduce You
Uber Is Offering Mad Max Rides In Seattle