DESCRIPTION:

The tale of the Konoha Monkey

On New Years Day around 1300 years ago, four men were told in a dream to build a shrine using the red clay of Mt. Konoha. After the shrine was built, the excess clay transformed into monkeys as if by a miracle. The then red face giant, that stood at 3 metres tall, appeared saying; "You will have a happy life if you make monkey dolls with the clay of Mt. Konoha." The men believed the message was from God and continued to make these clay monkey dolls throughout their lives and in exchange, they were kept safe and survived disasters and diseases.

Since then, the Monkey Dolls have been treasured by Talisman and use to warn off dangers as well as being used to pray for fertility and family prosperity. The dots on the monkeys represent blood vessels, arteries and veins and/or children's measles patterns as the dolls were used to aid recovery from illness. To this current day, the Konoha Monkey is only made by the Nagata Family in Kumamoto, Japan.

DETAILS:

Made in Japan

Material - Clay (twisting clay with fingertips without using a mould)

Approx. 7cm in height.