Society | Dec 15

Traditional wooden paddles depict prominent people

Seven "kawari hagoita" wooden paddles portraying prominent people of the year were put on display on Sunday.

A doll wholesaler in the capital city has been making the paddles every year since 1986, using a traditional Japanese "oshie" quilting technique.

Fujii Sota, who became the youngest shogi player to win two titles at the age of 18 years and one month, is depicted wearing a facemask.

A paddle titled "Miraculous Return" shows Japanese swimming star Ikee Rikako smiling with short hair. She returned to competitive swimming after revealing last February that she had leukemia.

US President Donald Trump and president-elect Joe Biden are depicted on a presidential election-themed paddle.

The display will be up until Tuesday at Keio Department Store in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.

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