Karakuri automata
Autómatas karakuri
- Date
- 1662 / 1796 · confidence medium
- Place
- Dōtonbori, Osaka, Japan
- Credited to
- Takeda Ōmi (theatre, 1662); Hosokawa Hanzō Yorinao (Karakuri Zui, 1796)
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Mechanical dolls with whalebone springs, cams and wooden gears, such as the one that serves tea and returns on its own. The treatise Karakuri Zui (1796) published their detailed plans.
What it led to
- a culture of mechanical engineering in Japan
- festival floats with automata
- a cultural touchstone for Japanese robotics