National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

　This specimen is one type of dogu (clay figures) called "shakokidogu (snow goggle clay figures)" that were produced actively in the early phase of the Final Jomon period in the Tohoku region. It is a large-sized hollow clay figure and well known for its high quality comparable to the snow goggle clay figure excavated from the Kamegaoka Ruins in Aomori, which is widely known through textbooks. Large crown-shaped projections like clouds of spray are placed on the large head. The extraordinarily big eyes and protruding shoulders and hips with short arms and legs look humorous. The entire body is decorated by making full use of the surikeshijomon technique, which enhances the effect of decoration by separating the area with a jomon pattern from the area without a pattern and by arranging cloud-like complicated patterns in a point/line-symmetric manner. Moreover, the decoration is further highlighted by painting the entire body, centering on the head, red.
Shakokidogu, which demonstrate the Jomon people's distinctive design sense and molding capability, continue to attract people even now.