The dolls were about 40 cm tall, dressed in various costumes such as those of babies, nurses, brides, girl scouts and so on. They closed their eyes when laid down, while they uttered ‘mama’ when lifted up to their feet. In 1927, twelve ships, including Siberia and Lisbon, carrying the dolls with their passports, visas and one-way tickets, arrived in the port of Yokohama, in time for Hina Matsuri. On March 3rd, the day of Hina Matsuri, a grand welcome ceremony for the dolls was held at Nippon Youth Assembly Hall in the outer garden of Meiji Shrine, attended by about 2,000 people, including Eiichi Shibusawa, the imperial family members, the officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Education, the student representatives from Tokyo elementary schools and the students from the American school.

Betty Ballantine, the representative of the US children, handed a doll to Yukiko Tokugawa, that of Japanese children, who was in the first grade of Gakushuin Elementary School. Afterwards, the dolls were distributed to kindergartens and elementary schools not only throughout Japan but also to Korea, Taiwan, Karafuto (Sakhalin) and Kwantung Leased Territory, Japanese colonies at that time. According to Shibusawa Memorial Museum, 166 dolls were distributed in Kanagawa Prefecture. Among them was the blue-eyed doll named Ruth Jane, distributed to Isehara Town Oyama Elementary School. The following is the process how the doll was found.

the engraved mark of

Morimura Brothers Co.on

Ruth Jane's shoulder

the original dress 

 

 

Ruth Jane

 

 

Furthermore, in 2005, Tomoko Shizukuishi, the executive secretary of the committee to investigate the blue-eyed friendship dolls in Miyagi Prefecture, provided the information that No.7 of Oyama Elementary School alumni bulletins, published in November 1st, 1929, is among the collection of Kanagawa Prefectural Library,and there is an article mentioning the doll as follows;

‘The pretty doll, who came a long way across the Pacific Ocean, delighted the children extremely. Her name is Ruth. Several days later, we held the great welcome party for her.’

The article shows that the doll was welcomed by the children with great interests. The principal at that time was Shuichiro Kuroishi.

Taking the evidences given by the people and by the articles concerning Oyama Elementary School into consideration, it is certain that the doll belonging to Oyama Elementary School is among the blue-eyed friendship dolls assembled from all over the US in the movement led by Gulick. The survival of 321 blue-eyed friendship dolls in Japan has been confirmed so far, and 99% of them were mass-produced composition dolls. The exceptions are three bisque dolls, the two of which were made in Germany, and the rest is Ruth Jane, made in Japan by Morimura Brothers Co., miraculously surviving in Oyama Elementary School. Ruth Jane returned to her homeland, as it were. This doll was probably exported to the US before the friendship doll project, privately owned once, contributed by the owner to join the project and became a member of the friendship dolls. Among 12,739 dolls, she was chosen to come to Oyama Elementary School by chance, on the mountainside of Oyama, which has been noted as a sacred mountain where gods and Buddha reside.

What made Morimura Brothers Co. (whose founder, Ichizaemon Morimura, as mentioned before, was acquainted with Gulick through the meetings of Kiitsu Kyokai) manufacture bisque dolls? According to Keiko Wakabayashi, a curator of Yokohama Doll Museum, bisque (biscuit porcelain) dolls, with matt skins, were made in Europe, mainly at Jumeau and Bru in France, and at Meissen in Germany from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The method of making chinaware, originally introduced from China and Japan into Europe, was applied to the production of the dolls. Due to the World War I, however, the German doll industry was obliged to withdraw from the US market. Instead, Morimura Brothers Co. (established in 1878, based in New York City), started manufacturing western dolls with German method at Seto (one of the biggest pottery production areas in Japan) in 1915. Though Morimura dolls got popular, the company was dissolved in 1921 due to the recession in the US. During this period, as many as 3 million dolls were exported, nearly 90 % of which were to the US and Canada.Among them is Ruth Jane, which could be said a ‘miracle doll’. Takehisa Yumeji Museum in Ikaho hot spring area in Gunma Prefecture has now more Morimura dolls than anywhere else in Japan.