Wholesalers

Wholesalers

Iwatsuki is a town of “makers,” with ningyo as the focus of their craft. The story of its development as a ningyo production area cannot be told, however, without mentioning the role of wholesalers.
Particularly after World War II, ningyo wholesalers were a growing part of the Iwatsuki community. In 1987, fifty-seven wholesalers had joined their business association here. ⁱ Since ningyo are made through a division of labor, with craftsmen specializing in one part of the process, distributing the completed works and acquiring the necessary supplies were complicated. There were thus several types of wholesalers, including some that handled the final production stage and others that only dealt in wholesale marketing of finished ningyo. In addition, makers who took charge of everything from creating the ningyo to wholesale and retail sales also appeared, raising the name recognition of Iwatsuki as a production center.
A wholesaler would purchase the parts making up the ningyo and the accessories, assemble them, and complete the finished works. To plan products, wholesalers also worked to manipulate trends in ningyo. They would hold sample fairs before each season in display spaces in their stores. During the period of rapid economic growth, buyers from retail shops and department stores from throughout Japan and middlemen came to the sample fairs, which were lively indeed.
Today, with internet sales and other many other routes to market, marketing and distribution take many different forms.

ⁱ Report of Study of Folk Crafts in Saitama Prefecture, Vol. 6: Saitama Hina Ningyo. (Saitama Folklore Museum, 1988).