History of dolls
The earliest Japanese dolls were clay figurines made in prehistoric times, such as dogu and haniwa. Later, paper and straw dolls were sometimes used in imperial court functions, and girls in the aristocracy often played with paper dolls, an activity known as "hiina asobi". During the Edo period (1603-1868), dolls dressed in clothing started to appear, and their popularity became more widespread. There were the Hina dolls made to celebrate the Peach Festival on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, as well as Ichimatsu dolls, said to be first made in the image of a popular kabuki actor.