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Over 12,000 American dolls arrived in Japan in early 1927. However, with the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese government issued an order in 1943 that the "enemy dolls" from America must be destroyed. Most of the once treasured dolls were destroyed by burning, smashing, and mutilating them, sometimes at the schools in front of young students. However, thanks to the courage of a few brave teachers and other individuals, many of the Blue-eyed Dolls survived by being hidden away in attics and storage closets.

Today about 300 Blue-eyed Dolls throughout Japan have been found! The surviving dolls are precious objects that help Japanese school children understand the meaning of peace.

The links below are to photos of the Blue-eyed Dolls of that prefecture. Please note that the number of dolls in the photos may differ from the number in the table below 
 

 

 

Number of Dolls

1927

Current

     Prefecture

   Aichi

349

10

   Akita

190

11

   Aomori

220

7

   Chiba

214

10

   Ehime

214

5

   Fukui

152

0

   Fukuoka

259

3

   Fukushima

323

17

   Gifu

235

2

   Gunma

142

19

   Hiroshima

326

4

   Hokkaido

643

24

   Hyogo

373

9

   Ibaragi

246

9

   Ishikawa

205

3

   Iwate

263

14

   Kagawa

102

1

   Kagoshima

209

0

   Kanagawa

166

8

   Kochi

187

1

   Kumamoto

241

2

   Kyoto

262

7

   Mie

194

8

   Miyagi

221

6

   Miyazaki

124

1

   Nagano

286

22

   Nagasaki

214

2

   Nara

144

4

   Niigata

398

9

   Oita

182

5

   Okayama

238

3

   Okinawa

63

0

   Osaka

429

4

   Saga

98

1

   Saitama

178

12

   Shiga

135

2

   Shimane

182

2

   Shizuoka

253

9

   Tochigi

213

5

   Tokushima

152

1

   Tokyo

568

10

   Tottori

107

2

   Toyama

150

6

   Wakayama

177

1

   Yamagata

205

10

   Yamaguchi

200

4

   Yamanashi

129

5

 

   Ministry of Education

1,212

0

 

     Former Colonies

   Chosen (Korea)

193

0

   Taiwan

98

0

   Karafuto (Sakhalin)

20

0

   Kanto-shu

10

0

 

     Total

12,294

300

It is commonly reported (including on this Friendship Dolls web site) that the number of American dolls distributed was 12,739, but this number differs from the total of 12,294 shown in the records.

Sources:
    Distribution of Dolls in 1927: Shibusawa Memorial Museum, Tokyo
    Dolls Currently Found by Prefecture: Bridge of Dolls, Eiko Takeda

The American Blue-eyed Dolls came from all but one of the 48 states in existence at the time. Four states gave over 50 percent of the dolls.


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