With the sports world put into limbo for much of the year due to the pandemic, traditional doll maker Kyugetsu Co. has opted to turn back the clock in a special exhibition of its novelty hagoita wooden paddles bearing the faces of top Japanese athletes.
In what has become a year-end tradition, the doll manufacturer makes special hagoita paddles decorated with the biggest newsmakers of the year in various fields and puts them on public display.
With many sports canceled or postponed -- most notably the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics -- due to the pandemic, the company decided to re-exhibit paddles of athletes who had been previously featured, hoping people "will be encouraged by the heroes of the sporting world."
A total of 10 hagoita are on display, including tennis player Naomi Osaka and figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, from the years of their breakthroughs as stars.
"We hope the world will become brighter even a little thanks to the energy emitted from the athletes and the power of the hagoita, which are said to ward off evil spirits," a company official said.
The paddles are on display through Tuesday at Kyugetsu in Taito Ward, Tokyo.
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