Dogu of Interest #141: Focus on the Melancholy Back! The "Twilight Dogu" from the Meotoishi Sode-takano Site, Iwate Prefecture
This slightly lonely-looking dogu is a popular figure known as the "Twilight Dogu."
It is only about 4 to 5 cm in size.
Excavated from a site in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture, this dogu was made approximately 4,000 years ago.
The more you look at this figure, the more endearing it becomes.
The small body has no decoration at all, and the facial features are kept to a minimum.
It is in a posture similar to sitting on the floor with knees pulled up, with its back hunched and its chin resting on its right arm.
The right arm stretched straight out in front is truly distinctive!
The tip of the hand is indented like a spoon, making it look as if it were made to hold something.
Dogu in this sitting-like posture are called "flexed-posture dogu."
Flexed-posture dogu were made mainly in the Tohoku region during the latter half of the Jomon period (Late to Final Jomon period).
This kneeling posture is said to represent someone offering a prayer or perhaps a woman giving birth while sitting, but the truth remains unknown.
When it comes to flexed-posture dogu, there are famous examples like the "National Treasure: Clasped-Hands Dogu" where the hands are joined as if in prayer, or dogu in a chin-resting pose, but while they all share this sitting posture, each one expresses a different hand gesture.
Another highlight of this dogu is its back!
It is a realistic expression that exudes a sense of melancholy.
If you look closely, you can see what appears to be the spine on its back, showing that it was crafted with great care.
The Japanese word "tasogareru" (to be in the twilight) comes from the kanji for "twilight."
As the word suggests, it means "to be lost in thought in the dim light of the evening."
At dusk in the Jomon period, standing all alone on the outskirts of the settlement, lost in thought... one can almost see the figure of a Jomon person doing just that.
*Reference Materials
Tono Machinaka Doki-Doki Museum handout
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