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 Preparing the Clay: Clay from the suburbs of Fukuoka is first dried, pulverized and prepared to the right consistency before being carefully wedged. |
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 Modeling: Much deliberation and many sketches go into establishing the form of the prototypes, which are painstakingly modeled in wet clay using a number of modeling tools. As this is an extremely important process in determining the final form of the dolls, it requires the well-practiced hand of a skilled craftsman. |
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 Making a Mold: A wall of clay is built up around the prototype and plaster of Paris is poured in to make a mold, which is made in two halves. Because the plaster is so fine, it is possible to take a perfect impression of the delicate features of the prototype. |
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| Making the Body: Clay is pushed firmly and carefully into the plaster molds with the fingers and the two halves are stuck together. The mold is then carefully removed to reveal a perfect replica of the prototype. Any extraneous clay is trimmed off before leaving the doll to dry. |
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 Firing: Although wood fired kilns were used up until about 1955, the dolls are now fired in electric or gas fired kilns to a temperature of around 900°C. |
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| Painting: The face is painted with layer upon layer of chinese white, to form an undercoat. This pigment is made from ground oyster shells. Color is then applied to the kimono, obi and pattern in that order. Several other techniques are used to decorate some dolls. Besides using gold leaf and thickly applied paint, another technique involves the application of gold, which is then burnished with a hard enamel such as that of a dog's tooth. |
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 Facial Features: It is a tense moment as the artist applies the facial features, almost as if he is giving part of himself to the doll. |
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 Completion: The culmination of these many production processes is a beautiful handmade doll, which could not have been created without the skills of the craftsman. |
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