# What are these scary Japanese dolls? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470 "2008-01-14T14:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5fc32e/32.png) [@Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juliette_Culture_Junkie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/1 "2008-01-14T14:03:57Z")
Tell me about these eerie, often super-realistic Japanese art dolls. I can’t find any useful text in English, just some pics on random blogs that say, “Look at these scary dolls!” I, for one, think they are gorgeous, but they do look like sick or dead women. They typically have red eyes (as if they are exhausted or have been crying), blank or pained expressions, very pale skin, and blushed fingers. They seem to be made of porcelain or bisque and often have elaborate costumes/ are sometimes nude. Is there a word for these kind of dolls? What’s the story on them? And why the blushing of the fingers and toes (my only guess is that it could represent carbon monoxide poisoning or livor mortis) Not sure if this goes in General Questions or CS, so sorry if it’s in the wrong place. Warning: These pictures may be disturbing to some folks. [Two dolls](http://www.jrocksaga.com/site/img/grab/grab81-extra1.gif) [A small pic](http://www.yaso-peyotl.com/archives/2007/03/01/yaso02doll.jpg) [Doll](http://img24.photobucket.com/albums/v72/signormori/damiel_dark.jpg) [Astral Doll](http://www.verycoolthings.com/vct/images/4757208650.jpg) The following are NSFW, so I didn’t link them. They contain scary doll nudity and disturbing images. An eBay auction of a picture book: [http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Doll-Contemporary-Surreal-Ningyo-Yaso\_W0QQitemZ290148104172QQihZ019QQcategoryZ378QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem](http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Doll-Contemporary-Surreal-Ningyo-Yaso_W0QQitemZ290148104172QQihZ019QQcategoryZ378QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem) Lots of pictures on this doll site: > **[DOLL SPACE PYGMALION](http://pygmalion.mda.or.jp/)** > > ©ì̋̊֐ߐl\`ð͂¶߁Al\`NWàB ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/2 "2008-01-14T15:13:17Z")
google “gothic lolita.” ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/3 "2008-01-14T15:21:20Z")
Mommy, can I have a dead doll? ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/4 "2008-01-14T16:27:04Z")
What you’re seeing are ball-jointed dolls made by a variety of manufacturers. The best known is probably Volks, who makes the ‘Dolfie’ line. Japanese ball-jointed dolls are quite hot on the American market right now, and Volks has even opened a shop in Los Angeles. These dolls are very customizable, and certain looks are popular - among them gothic lolita (as mentioned above) and a kind of gothic vampire look. Collectors can buy a ‘blank’ doll body and assemble it themselves with custom body and face paint, wigs, eyes, etc. [Volks USA’s website.](http://www.volksusa.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/5 "2008-01-14T17:18:46Z")
Well, there’s not a huge lot to say about the ones you linked in particular, as they’re once-made artist works by Koitsukihime, Ryo Yoshida and the like - really cool ones at that, and you can find those artbooks in any japanese bookstore if you have one locally, but the dolls themselves are not available for sale. I happen to be a customizer of the commercial ones (from Volks and other companies), though, if you have any questions about those! Been doing it for a few years now. A lot of people who collect them like to dabble in sculpting them, too. Some are quite talented and have stylized them towards the more provocative (creepy) stuff there. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/6 "2008-01-15T02:01:30Z")
Whatever you do don’t look at pictures of Rozen Maiden dolls when your all alone. Brrr ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/7 "2008-01-15T02:22:03Z")
Disturbing? I think you’d have to be a pretty big pussy to be disturbed by any of the images linked in the OP. What is this world coming to? I guess this is why most of the “horror” movies in the theaters today are Japanese-style “scary little girl” flicks. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/8 "2008-01-15T02:26:08Z")
They are kind of creepy, but not terrible. They’re a bit uncanny valley. I feel a little weird watching them because I’m afraid they’re suddenly going to move. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/9 "2008-01-15T03:01:19Z")
[QUOTE=TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW] google “gothic lolita.” [/QUOTE] FTR, gothic lolita (gothloli) is a style of dress, not really anything to do with the dolls. While the dolls can be dressed in gothloli fashions (and potentially used as accessories by girls dressed in a gothloli style), they’re not intrinsically linked, so looking up gothic lolita, while interesting in itself, wouldn’t be terribly helpful for answering the OP’s question. ---
**Author:** ![Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5fc32e/32.png) [@Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juliette_Culture_Junkie)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/10 "2008-01-15T13:04:00Z")
Thank you for the info! I am (vaguely) familiar with the Elegant Gothic Lolita/EGL fashion subculture and with Volks/Dolfie style ball-jointed dolls, so I know that these dolls are neither. I only disclaimed the links because some people might find them disturbing, not because I do. ---
**Author:** ![Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5fc32e/32.png) [@Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juliette_Culture_Junkie)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/11 "2008-01-15T13:08:04Z")
**furryman** , I think my dolls are creepier!! 😉 I have a couple of magazines with photos of these dolls (Dolly Dolly & another), but the text is all Japanese if I can find them online, they cost something like $50-100! I’d like to get some more, though. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-scary-japanese-dolls/433470/12 "2008-01-16T03:43:14Z")
[QUOTE=Juliette: Culture Junkie] **furryman** , I think my dolls are creepier!! 😉 I have a couple of magazines with photos of these dolls (Dolly Dolly & another), but the text is all Japanese if I can find them online, they cost something like $50-100! I’d like to get some more, though. [/QUOTE] You [as in random passersby, you probably already know this] think that’s psycho? The dolls themselves cost up to $700, just the body and head, no makeup and if you’re lucky, some sort of basic default clothing. I’ve seen outfits go upwards of $100.