Handcrafts: Akabeko, Aizu's red cows

A post on handcrafts this time. One of the folk handcrafts to come out of the Aizu region (Fukushima prefecture) is the akabeko, pictured at left. "Beko," in the local dialect, means "ox," and that's just what this is: a little red toy ox with a bobbing head. But what is the origin of this simple toy? What place does it have in its original region today?

For more on the red ox of Aizu, read on!


The roots of the akabeko go all the way back to the late Nara period. The local lore has it that in 807, during the construction of Enzo-ji temple (still extant, in Yanaizu town), many oxen died during the grueling task of carrying the lumber needed for its completion. In the midst of this bovine catastrophe, a mysterious red ox appeared. When so many other oxen died from overwork, this red ox survived, and the temple was completed. In commemoration of this red ox, the people of the Aizu region began making the toy we now know as akabeko. (For students of the religious history of the Middle East, the motif of a red heifer being special or sacred ought to be familiar.) The toy itself is fairly simple: usually painted papiermache, with the head connected to the body with an inner mechanism that lets it bob.

The akabeko has, however, transcended its original role as a simple toy. It has become a mascot for the Aizu region. A cartoon red ox, dubbed "Akabee" (as seen in the top left corner of the Aizu tourism homepage, linked below), is now ubiquitous in Aizu. The city also has an Akabee busline, and yes, the red ox has even made it to online commerce:  you can buy Akabee goods online.

At right is a train on the line serving Aizu, painted in akabeko colors, with Akabee himself on the engine's front end.


What do you think? Quite a change for the humble red ox of Enzo-ji Temple!

Works Cited

• "Akabee," on Aizukanko.com (accessed 24 Mar. 2013) 
• Brandon, Reiko Mochinaga. Spirit and Symbol: The Japanese New Year. Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994.
• Kita Atsushi. Aizu no Kokoro. Tokyo: Mokujisha, 1974.
• Kobayashi Seiji. Fukushimaken no  Rekishi. Tokyo: Yamakawa shuppansha, 1970.
• Saint-Giles, Amaury. Mingei: Japan's Enduring Folk Arts. Rutland. C.E. Tuttle, 1989.
• Sentance, Bryan, and Polly Sentance. Craft Traditions of the World. New  York: Thames & Hudson, 2009.