Miyoshi Doll Pottery

This pottery doll studio is the only one of its kind in the prefecture. Located a five-minute drive from the Miyoshi Interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, the studio continues to create Miyoshi dolls, a traditional pottery doll characterized by cute and simple yet beautiful forms. Also notable for their distinctive luster, the history of Miyoshi dolls is said to extend back to around 1633 when the third lord of the domain, Asano Nagaharu, brought back a doll maker from Asakusa in Edo and gifted dolls to retainers when they had children. Because of their beautiful luster, they are also known as “Hikari” (“Light”) dolls. The dolls are an essential part of seasonal festivities in the area but the work of painting them is only conducted during the coldest part of the year, meaning visitors who come here in the winter up to early April can watch the painting being performed.