Gizmodo reported that there is a company in Japan that can (and does) still know how to make karakuri dolls–which are ancient little robots from Edo made out of wood and porcelain with no metal screws or anything.

There’s a direct if invisible line connecting these gizmos and the likes of Actroid DR2. An updated version of the “Tea Serving Doll,” Gizmodo was mainly fascinated by the possibility of the dolls serving sake–however, this is very interesting news!

Karakuri ningyo are mechanized puppets or automata from Japan that were built during Edo period (1603 to 1867). They’re always some kind of footnote in the computer course, like the Jacquard loom and El Ajedrecista, but who would have thought someone could still make them? To quote the company’s website:

Karakuri dolls were introduced in the oldest manuscript of mechanical engineering in Japan, which was called Karakuri-zui. Setting the tea cup on the tray makes the doll move, and it stops when the tea cup is removed. If the cup is replaced, the doll swivels around and returns to its original position. Karakuri dolls were the first automata in Japan. Their movements are caused by the power of springs, mercury and sand. You can build them and take them apart easily without ever using metallic screws or nails. Karakuri dolls are a representative of the highest technology in the Edo period. It was difficult to pass the tradition down from generation to generation, because their production required not only the knowledge, but also a high level of craftsmanship. It is called a treasure trove since few original designs from those days still exist, and complete ones are even more rare.

The whole Web site is kind of fascinating and they make an entire range of these automata. The only downside is that the karakuri dolls are made to order, taking 20-40 days, and cost 1,050,000 Yen ($8,722) each. So probably the customers are mainly restricted to rich people and museums but it’s certainly good to hear that the karakuri dolls are alive and well. Well, not “alive” but sort of alive.