This ceramic gangu figure was made at Gangu Kobo in Seto. To commemorate 2026, the year of the Horse, seen here is a horse and carrot scene. Implicit are tidings of good fortune for the new year. It is hand painted, and presented on a wooden base with the Gangu Kobo logo. It is 9.3cm high, and 12cm wide, 6cm depth. About Gangu Kobo / Seto Togeisha The making of figures is one of the many aspects within ceramic craft in Seto. Once a major business for export, the Seto Togeisha company focussed instead on the domestic market, and made work for use at Kyoto shrines. As times changed the family firm adjusted and today, led by the grand-daughter of its founder, works are hand painted and full of colourful expression. Daruma, rabbits, new year’s mochi, snakes, dragons and more appear within a miniature world inspired from Japan’s ‘gangu’ tradition of folk inspired figurines. They are made in the firm’s Gangu Kobo (‘gangu workshop’) with concepts developed by the ceramicist Yusuke Mizuno, and realised by the firm’s craftspeople. Their brushwork imbues gentle expressions to the pieces, and find new representations of tradition, folk craft and belief.