Holy smokes, I just hit a spot in the Gangukan blog archives that's so sweet, I'm gonna have to eat the 5 lb bag of Tootsie Roll products we bought for Trick or Treat just to come down.
Hasutani Enjo is a toymaker from Shiga prefecture in central Japan, whose handmade wooden kinetic toys have taken the grand prix at some Tokyu Hands toy competition. Last fall, the Gangukan toy museum's +One Gallery had an exhibition of Hasutani's work, including his award-winning mogul skiers [check out the picture]; a little mechanical wood bunny with a mallet who pounds a vat of rice into mochi; and Frying Pan Bunny, who flips either hotcakes or burgers as he rolls along, depending on the darkness of the stain on the wooden food.
10/2006: Hasutani Enjo wooden toy exhibition [blog.gangukan.jp]
Hasutani Enjo's other wooden toy animals and whatnots [kirakuya]
Isn't that the bunny pounding mochi who lives in the moon?