Nagasaki Crafts

Nagasaki's crafts are unique in that they are a mixture of Japanese and Western cultures. Popular souvenirs to buy in Nagasaki are glasswork, clay dolls and hata kites featuring glass threads. The glass products of Nagasaki are also known as Nagasaki vidro (the Portuguese word for glass) and include Nagasaki chirori, a beautiful indigo blue sake ware, and poppen, a novelty item that produces a sound when one blows on it.      The Koga ningyo doll are one of the most famous clay dolls in Japan. The Koga ningyo doll has ancient origins, and some believe it was made during the Genroku period in the Edo era. The Nagasaki hata style of kite is said to have been brought to Nagasaki by Indonesians who came to Dejima in the first half of the 17th century. Many hata kites have simple patterns reminiscent of the designs of signal flags and the flags flown by Dutch ships. The Hata Kite Flying takes place in March and April on Tohakkei and other mountains surrounding the city.