✳︎Product Name: Narai Karakuri Toy "Shinano Saru (Shinano Monkey) - Soba Saru x 3" ✳︎Artist: Fujiya Souvenir Shop, Koji Nakanishi ※Not sold separately. No discounts. ✳︎Size: Approximately 7.2cm high x 4.4cm wide x 13.2cm deep ✳︎Condition: Item only (no box, no leaflet) / Some age-related soiling on the main body / Karakuri mechanism works fine / Please understand that there may be some minor imperfections due to the item being a used product. ✳︎Remarks: Please understand that this is a used item before purchasing. Returns or exchanges are not accepted for issues not inquired about before purchase. Nara-i-juku in Nagano Prefecture is a former post town on the Nakasendo road, and its beautiful townscape has been selected as a National Important Preservation District for Traditional Buildings, known as a place that preserves the traditional atmosphere of Japan. Fujiya Souvenir Shop in Nara-i-juku has been producing numerous local toys, such as wooden karakuri toys, clay dolls, clay bells, and miniature folk houses. This work is a wooden karakuri toy "Shinano Saru" featuring soba noodles, a specialty of Nagano Prefecture. It is a karakuri toy of three monkeys making soba noodles, with "Soba Furui Saru (Soba Sifting Monkey)," "Soba Noshi Saru (Soba Rolling Monkey)," and "Soba Kui Saru (Soba Eating Monkey)," representing the process of making handmade soba noodles. Currently, the wooden karakuri toys are only displayed, the works created by the artist Nakanishi during his lifetime, and are not for sale. ✳︎Koji Nakanishi (1936-2014) Born in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. Influenced by his father and older brother who were painters, he was familiar with brushes and sculptures from childhood. After graduating from junior high school, he began to learn woodworking. After graduating from the Faculty of Economics at Chuo University and working as a salaryman in Tokyo, he opened a handmade shop in Nara-i-juku on the Nakasendo road, his father's family home, in 1976. He produced and sold original works such as karakuri toys, clay dolls, clay bells, woodblock prints, and paper cut postcards. ◉⤵︎Search Terms #LocalToys Local Toys Crafts Folkcrafts Karakuri Dolls Wooden Toys Kiji Toys (Wooden Toys) Nara-i-juku Nara-i Karakuri Toys Shinano Saru Soba Restaurant Soba Furui Saru (Soba Sifting Monkey) Soba Noshi Saru (Soba Rolling Monkey) Soba Kui Saru (Soba Eating Monkey) Eto Decorations (Zodiac Decorations) Karakuri (Mechanical Toys) Wood Carving Folk Toy Forktoy Keisuke Serizawa Tei Yamamoto Peasant Art Bernard Leach Bingo-ya Isetatsu Fuku-kan (Lucky Can) Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten Mingei (Folk Crafts) CASABRUTUS Miyagemon Collection (Souvenir Collection) Fuku-kan (Lucky Can) Sōetsu Yanagi MUJI Kaiyodo Soba (Buckwheat Noodles) Soba Uchi (Making Soba Noodles) Soba Uchi (Making Soba Noodles) Extinct Local Toys Fujiya Souvenir Shop Koji Nakanishi