This isho-ningyo ("costume doll") represents a geisha performing a fan dance. She wears a furisode kimono, a type of kimono with floor-length sleeves intended for unmarried women. There are two layers of kimono, each with a puffed train. Her obi (sash) is decorative, tied into a bow with the long end hanging down her back.
Isho-ningyo are a type of traditional Japanese doll. This broad category of dolls is most closely associated with figures of women and popular actors, though today may represent other figures as well, from popular gods to figures from folklore and legend to foreigners. Isho-ningyo are celebrated for their elaborate costumes ("isho" means textiles/costuming); as a result their bodies are somewhat rudimentary to focus attention on the clothing. These dolls emerged during the Edo period (1600-1868), and were created exclusively for play, rather than for use in any of Japan's doll-related festivals such as Hinamatsuri—in keeping with the Edo preference for the luxurious and pleasing (the market for isho-ningyo was the same as that of ukiyo-e prints).
