Ancient Japanese made clay figurines about one foot high; these figures are called dogu today. In Turkish this came to mean ‘from the East’. The figures are so futuristic in design, they still inspire artists the world over. Their design is so incredible and fantastic to inspire fantasists all over the world as well.

The Jomon period in Japan ended sometime BC; its name derives from the ornaments used on their pottery in general and their figures as we know them and refers to the corded designs used. As to when the Jomon period started and when it ended, I prefer to keep out of the discussions going on. According to what the archaeologists, scientists, and fantasts want to prove, you find any starting date after 14,000 BC, and its ending is placed somewhere shortly before BC. Unhappily, history is used for political purposes worldwide, in this case in an ongoing dispute between Japan and Korea, and therefore whatever you get served as historical truth usually isn’t.

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Erich von Däniken, first alien ambassador and pope of the ufologists, dates the period to one century, the 6th century BC, to coincide in time with a fanciful biblical story of the same time. Others find parallels in the Ecuadorian Valdivia culture to prop their ideas of alien visitors, as there are certain pictorial parallels to the art styles. I for my part would be surprised if in a time span of 14,000 years nobody would come up with some of the same ideas.

Apart from the fantasts, science doesn’t come up with any conclusive ideas either. The proposals range from gods and goddesses being depicted, as well shamanistic spirit representations, funeral gifts, effigies for the spirits of dead ancestors, or even children toys. The sheer fancy of the figurines are baffling. Apart from being painted, they sometimes sport goggles, or have heart shaped faces, and sometimes they seem to wear astronauts’ outfits or nuclear protective gear.

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The figures were made from clay and burned in open fire pits. The larger ones of them were hollow to cut down on their weight. They come in a variety of styles, some with applications, some painted, some lacquered. An exhibition in the British Museum exploring the development of dogu over time runs from September 10th to November 22nd 2009. The exhibits are on loan from a diversity of Japanese museums and private collections and represent the top of dogu art.

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It being anyone’s guess to what purpose the figures were made, I suppose I might add mine just as well. Because of the mass of them found, there are currently over 18,000 known figures in the world, and due to the fact that almost all of them are broken, I guess they are merchandising ware in connection with the longest fantasy serial ever; probably they were supplied by Dogu Cola or McDogu, take your pick.

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