Russian matryoshka dolls

by Yuka O.
(Saitama, Japan)

I think the Russian matryoshka doll is one of the most famous articles in Russia. I like the miscellaneous motifs of matyoshka dolls and often buy them at general shops.

I examined Russian matryoshka dolls and found that the matryoshka doll is concerned with Japanese culture. The origin of matryoshka is Hakone’s kumikozaiku. At the end of the 19th century, a Russian missionary who visited a souvenir shop in Hakone brought back to Russia a kumikozaiku ornament which is shaped like the Seven Lucky Gods.

I had thought that the matryoshka doll was a pure Russian article, but now I think the matryoshka resembles a Japanese kokeshi doll. I think it’s interesting that the object which originally existed in Japan came back to this country with a change in the shape.