User:Ehesser90/Ino-Hariko (犬はりこ)

Ino-Hariko 犬はりこ are papier-mâché toy dog figures reported to date back to the late Edo period (1603-1868). Ino-Hariko are composed of “papier-mache, rice paste, whitewash, applied color”. Painted markings vary but are typically white bodies, black spots and decorative outfits. While these dog figures were given to children as toys, they were also given as a good-luck talisman to pregnant women. The symbolism of this talisman came from the belief that dogs have uncomplicated births. These toy figures were also “associated with a newborn child's first pilgrimage to a shrine” as their image is so closely tied to pregnant women, newborns and young children.