Japan's traditional dolls defy recession

TOKYO (Reuters) - Shunichiro Yagi was worried about whether his traditional Japanese doll sets would sell this year as the recession spread through the economy. With most of them costing around $2,000 and some going for up to $50,000, it's not hard to see why.

But in the end, his sales edged up in the February run-up to the all important Dolls Festival in early March and his rivals were similarly unscathed by the economic slide that has hit sales of almost all other big ticket items from cars to jewelry.

"They're calling this a 'once in a century' economic slump, but it turned out our situation wasn't so bad," said Yagi, the third-generation owner of a 76-year-old shop in Tokyo's Asakusabashi district, home to many such doll stores.

Part of the secret may be a Japanese fondness for the tradition of families with daughters putting sets of ornamental dolls on display for the Doll Festival every year on March 3.

But most of it is about keeping up appearances.

"It's more or less about the vanity factor. Even in times of economic hardship, grandparents feel pressured to spend money," said Yagi, who is also chairman of the Japan Dolls Association.

There is no historical data on the size of the market, but early this year the association estimated that this year's "hina" doll sales may total about 57 billion yen ($590 million).

Hina dolls are ornamental dolls in ancient court attire that represent the imperial couple and their entourage, all arranged on a staircase-like stage, complete with miniature furniture, carriages and other items.

Traditionally, the mother's parents buy dolls for the first girl in the family, and some of them spend handsome amounts.

"The most expensive ones we sold this year were 5 million yen ($50,890)," said Masaru Aoki, an official at Yoshitoku, which claims to be the oldest doll store in Tokyo, having opened its doors nearly 300 years ago.

Even Yoshitoku's main lines of doll sets go for about 200,000 yen ($2,070) each.

DOLLS IN DOLL HOUSES

Rather than short-term economic swings, the doll shops' main concerns are gradual changes in people's lifestyles including a long decline in the number of newborns and more and more cramped housing conditions.

In 2008, 1.1 million children were born in Japan, half the more than 2 million born every year in the early 1970s.

Customers are often more worried about whether they have enough space for the doll sets than about how much they cost.

Displays for large sets can be up to 130cm wide and 180cm deep, and many families -- especially those living in tiny apartments -- just don't have the space for them.

"For housing reasons, customers are buying smaller sets in recent years, and prices inevitably fall," Yagi said. "So compared with 10 to 20 years ago, the industry has been shrinking."

But so far, the pace of decline appears not to have been exacerbated by the country slipping into its deepest recession in decades. Yoshitoku's Aoki said he hoped things would stay that way.

"We haven't seen the impact of the recession. People still take care of their family rituals with respect. I hope things are the same next year," he said.

(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Hugh Lawson)