Японские механические куклы Каракyри

Traditional Japanese puppet

are traditional Japanese mechanized puppets or automata, made from the 17th century to the 19th century. The dolls' gestures provided a form of entertainment. The word karakuri has also come to mean "mechanisms" or "trick" in Japanese. It is used to describe any device that evokes a sense of awe through concealment of its inner workings. The name karakuri is thought to come from the Japanese verb karakuru, which means "to pull, stretch, and move a thread". It is alternatively written in kanji as 絡繰り, 絡繰, 機巧, 機関, and archaically as 唐繰.

One of the earliest recorded references in Japan to similar automata devices is found in the Nihon Shoki, which references a mechanism known as a south pointing chariot appearing during the reign of Empress Kōgyoku, in 658 CE. Karakuri were further developed in Japan after the introduction of European clock making technology sometime in the early 17th century, during the Sengoku period. The gears and cams used in clock making were used to create moving dolls. The country embraced the mechanized puppet performance as a form of entertainment, and it became popular during the Edo period, which was considered the golden age of karakuri construction and use. In 1662, clockmaker Takeda Omi completed the first butai karakuri, karakuri designed for stage performances, in the Dōtonbori neighborhood of Osaka. In the 19th century, Tanaka Hisashige, the founder of Toshiba, gained a reputation by making technically sophisticated karakuri puppets. His masterpieces are arrow shooting boy; ; Yumi hiki doji and Moji kaki doll (letter writing doll). In the case of Yumi hiki, using mechanical power, a puppet shoots a target with a bow and arrow, and in the case of Moji kaki, a puppet a dips a brush into ink and writes characters on paper. According to Kirsty Boyle, a student of one of the last karakuri puppet masters in Japan, the karakuri tradition focuses on the art of concealing technology with the belief that it would evoke feelings and emotions more effectively. It is also noted that, although the karakuri puppet resembles the human figure, it has a form of decisive movement that features rapid shifts that cannot be captured by the naked eye.

There are three main types of karakuri. were life sized dolls designed for public performances such as theatres. were small and used in homes. Most of them were set on a table and performed a dance or beat drums, but some were designed to serve tea or sake. These were significantly expensive, and usually owned by a daimyo or other high status person. were large mechanical dolls used in religious festivals, was used in a situation when a host wanted to treat a guest in a recreational way. It moves in a straight line for a set distance, moving its feet as if walking, and then bows its head. The doll stops when the cup is removed. When it is replaced, the robot raises its head, turns around and returns to where it came from. It is typically powered by a wound spring made of whalebone, and the actions are controlled by a set of cams and levers.