The Japanese Love of Robots ❶Japan, the Robot Kingdom
Suematsu Yoshikazu
Professor, Department of Electronic-Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya University
The Word ‘Robot’
The origin of the word “robot” comes from the Czech
word for slave, and it was first used in 1920 drama by
Karel Chapek (R･U･R, Rossam's Universe Robots).
However, I think that now the image that people hold of
the word ‘robot’ differs significantly between Japan andthe west.
Atomboy and Superman
Atomboy and Superman are both science fiction
characters with numerous superhuman powers, andthey are national heroes in Japan and the west
respectively. Atomboy, the supporter of justice who is“chahakobi ningyo” made by the nineth Tamaya Syobei

loved by all, is a robot created by Tezuka Osamu.
However, Superman, the invincible man who came toearth from a distant star, is depicted as a being fromouter space. In the west, setting Superman as a robot
made by human beings would not be acceptable. Now
why is this the case?
Many science fiction movies in which robots appear havebeen made in the west. As represented in the movie‘Terminator,’ most robots appearing in science fiction
movies have massacred humans, and continue tooppose human society. Especially in western countries,
we can say that the wariness toward machine civilization,and misgivings about the coexistence of humans androbots have been inherited through their long histories.
Mechanical Puppets, the Roots of Japanese Robots
On the other hand, the roots of robots for Japanesepeople lie in karakuri ningyo, or mechanical puppets.
The tea-serving doll (chahakobi ningyo) that can be seen
as representative of it, is said to have appeared in the
mid-Edo period. In the late Edo period, it appeared in thenovels of Ihara Saikaku and the haiku poetry of
Kobayashi Issa, and it was widely known and cherishedamong the common people.
The tea-serving doll was made completely of wood, andat that time they used the baleen of a whale (the teeth ofa right whale) for a spring. It was a robot in which wereconcentrated the ingenious devices of, in the midst ofordinary entertaining when a host would serve tea to a
guest. When the host placed a teacup on the tea tray
held by the puppet, it would move straight to the guest,
and when the guest took the tea it would stop and wait.
When the guest drank the teacup and put it back on thetray, it would turn around and go back to where the hostwas. While moving, it moves its dragging foot, andmoves forward nodding its head up and down. In
addition, it was also equipped with a mechanism bywhich the host, having measured by eye the distance to“Karakuri - An Illustrated Anthology” in 1796 translated into

involved in the Kansei Reforms; ‘Karakuri Giuemon,’ orTanaka Hisashige from Kurume, who after making themechanical puppet masterpieces ‘Child Drawing a Bow’and the ‘Eternal Clock,’ became the founder of Toshiba
Corporation; and Ohno Benkichi from Kaga, whose
activities encompassed not only mechanical puppets but
also mathematics and medicine.
The common link binding these three men is that all ofthem, despite the closed country of the time, hungrily
absorbed the most advanced western science thatentered through the port of Nagasaki, and they were allcomprehensive scientists well versed in such areas asmathematics, astronomy, chemistry and medicine.
Furthermore, they did not merely imitate western things,
but created things suited to the unique Japanese culture
and people.
There is no doubt that Japan’s mechanical puppet
culture represented by these men contributed toindustrial modernization after the opening of the country
in the Meiji-period.

modern Japanesethe guest, could set in advance the place where it would
turn around. The tea-serving doll was not only excellent
from the mechanical perspective, but it also had ahuman essence, and its existence provided
entertainment, thus it functioned as a way of deepening
communication between host and guest.
The current revival of the tea-serving doll was largely
made possible by the three-volume ‘Karakuri - An
Illustrated Anthology’ published by Hosokawa Hanzo
Yorinao in 1796. The Karakuri - An Illustrated Anthology
explains the making of four types of Japanese clocks
and nine types of mechanical puppets with precise
diagrams, and this volume must be seen as an original
book of mechanical engineering very rare even on the
global scene. The diagram shown on the top this pageis the first page of the first volume toy section, which I
have translated into modern Japanese.
Mechanical Puppet Makers as Pioneering
Comprehensive Scientists
If we were to give the names of three famous Edomechanical puppet makers, we would probably have toinclude Hosokawa Hanzo Yorinao, who wrote the‘Karakuri - An Illustrated Anthology’ and was also

Differences from the Western Automata
As something to compare with the Japanese mechanicalpuppets, we can look at the automata (mechanicalpuppets) that flourished in the early eighteenth century inEurope. An elaborately dressed puppet entertained
people with various gestures and movements in timewith the beautiful tones of a music box. There werevarious ones such as ones that drew pictures or wrote
letters, ones that played the organ, and ones that
performed acrobatic movements.
However, there are essential differences between thewestern automata and the Japanese mechanical puppet.
Simply put, I believe that there are significant differences
not only in the technical distinctions between theautomata that use metal parts and numerous nut andbolts, versus the mechanical puppets which eschewed
screws and concentrated their energy in the wood
craftsmanship of the frame, but also in such things as thereasons for which they are made, as well the manner of
expressing themselves to spectators.
The goal of the automata appears to be to imitate human
movements as faithfully as possible by means of amachine. For example, in the case of the ‘Writer’ or the‘Musician’, early automata masterpieces of the father andson makers Jaquet Droz, the youth dips the tip of the peninto the inkwell, shakes the pen so that the ink will not
drip, and skillfully moves the pen to write characters,
while the maiden who plays the organ glances at theaudience, fixes her gaze upon the musical notes, andactually plays the piano with ten fingers to play a tune. I
wonder if the makers produced these automata to showthat machines had come this close to human beings.
This sort of design intention is not apparent in Japanesemechanical puppets.

Automata’s and mechanical puppets’s expression

The ‘Snake Charmer’ skillfully handles the snake, slowly
closes her eyes and shows an expression of rapture,and the snake lies down as her breasts sway. It is reallyerotic.
On the other hand, the ‘Child Drawing a Bow’ is a room
puppet that with its right hand picks up one by one thefive arrows on top of the arrow stand, sets them in thebow, takes aim at a target about two meters away andreleases the arrows. If the arrows hit the target, hejoyfully grabs the next arrow, but if the arrow doesn’t hit
the target, he picks up the next arrow with an expression
saying ‘Next time.’ Six strings subtly change themovements of the head and neck, and the tilt of the head
and the shadows convey the puppet’s emotions to thespectators. Mechanical puppet makers finish the facesof the puppets so that they can express the fundamental
emotions of joy, fear, anger and sadness by the
inclination and shadows of the puppet’s face. I would
like to explain a little further. The mechanisms by which
the puppet rejoices if the arrow hits the target, and attains
a serious expression if the arrow misses the target, is asfollows. The puppet makes the same movements
whether the arrow hits or misses. It makes use of thefact that the psychological state of the spectatorschanges a lot when the arrow hits versus when it misses.
If the arrow hits the small target, the spectators cheer andlook at the puppet’s face, while if the arrow misses, theylook at the puppet with a psychological state of ‘Don’t
miss the next one.’ Not only the performance of the‘Child Drawing a Bow’ has this technique, but also thoseof many mechanical puppets including mechanicalpuppets on festival floats, are directed by taking thepsychological state of the spectators into account.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Suematsu Yoshikazu. Born in Nagoya in 1943. After completingthe doctoral course in Engineering from Nagoya University

Another distinction is the way in which emotions are
expressed by the puppets. While there are many
western automata whose eyes and mouth move in orderto show facial expressions, in the case of Japanesemechanical puppets, subtle head movements or the playof light and shadow are utilized to show the emotions of
the puppet.
The photos on the middle left are detail photos of thefamous automata ‘The Snake Charmer”, and the apex ofmechanical puppets the “Child Drawing a Bow”.

Graduate School of Engineering, became a Research Associate,
Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor at Nagoya
University. In 1988, became Professor of Mechanical Engineeringat Nagoya University, and since 1994 at the same graduate school
has been a Professor in the Graduate Course of the Department ofElectronic-Mechanical Engineering. In 1986 won the Third Nagai
Organization Science and Technology Prize. Published books
include the Illustrated Mechatronics Series ‘Introduction to
Computers for Control,’ ‘Introduction to Mechanical Control,’ etc.

The Japanese Love of Robots ❷The Dawn of the Home Robot Era
Suematsu Yoshikazu
Professor, Department of Electronic-Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya University

Why Are Most Industrial Robots
Concentrated in Japan?
Among robots which work in place of humans, thoserobots that perform various tasks such as assembly,
material handling, painting, welding, electronic chip
mounting at manufacturing plants are referred to asindustrial robots.
According to 1997 statistics, there were about 700,000
industrial robots in use in the world, and 410,000 of these,or about 60 percent, are working in Japanese factories.
This situation has persisted for more than fifteen years.
The United States, the birthplace of industrial robots,accounts for no more than ten percent of the total. Why
are industrial robots concentrated in Japan?

Industrial robots in use in the world

Generally speaking, differences in the labor environment
such as conditions of employment or labor-management
relations, or differences in industrial structure such as thefact that there are many easy to mechanize industries
such as home electrical appliances or automobile
makers are cited, but there exists a more essential
difference between Japan and western countries withregard to robots. Westerners associate the word ‘robot’

with ‘slave’, and they harbor wariness that some day
robots will attain the same or greater ability than humans,
and will threaten the people’s lives. In contrast,
Japanese people, as represented in the case of
Atomboy, even harbor affection for robots. If we ask
where this Japanese liking for robots came from, we
would have to say that it comes from room puppets suchas the tea-serving puppet, the over three-hundred-year
tradition of festival float mechanical puppets that play themain role each year in festivals, and the existence of the
tradition of mechanical puppets can be said to be theroots of robots in Japan.
The Advent of the Home Robot Era
In 1997, the appearance of three robots surprised people
all over the world. The first was the American Mars
Pathfinder probe, and the other two were announced
from Japanese corporations. These were Sony’s ‘Pet
Robot’ and Honda’s ‘bipedal walking robot.’ The lattertwo robots had in common that while they were criticizedwithin their companies for ‘having no practicalapplication,’ they pursued the dreams of engineers,
surprised robotics engineers all over the world, andearned more favorable reviews than expected after theirannouncement.
Sony’s Pet Robot was marketed under the name ‘AIBO’,and in June of 1999 it sold 3,000 units in Japan, and
2,000 units in the United States on a limited sales basis.
At that time, by internet orders, in Japan it took 17
minutes, and in the United States 4 days to complete thesale. Then in December of 1999, they attempted tohave global sales of 10,000 unites. The number ofbuyer applicants totaled 150,000, and it is reported that
97 percent of them were Japanese. Americans madeup 2 percent, and apparently orders from Europe madeup less than 1 percent. This shows the Japanese liking
for robots, and it also shows the existence of a European

antipathy even now toward bringing a robot into thehousehold.

The cat-shaped robot (Tama-chan) developed by Omron
for the purpose of promoting rich communication
between humans and nature. As a tool for relieving thestress of modern society, if you call it, it looks back at you,
if you pet it, it closes its eyes blissfully, sleeps, gets angry.
It is a robot directed at the general user, and is planned to
go on limited sale by the end of this year.
Tama-chan(Omron) and bear(Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.)

“AIBO” produced Pet Robot BoomAIBO and imitation goods

Sony’s AIBO was sold at 250,000 yen. It is certainly notcheap, but it is a high technology product unrivalled byothers with a specialized CPU, micromotor, camera, etc.
On the other hand, among the imitation goods thatappeared in the train of the AIBO boom, from rubber
balloons sold at festival stands, to things that performed
cute movements with spring mechanisms, to things thatsang songs, and ones that were controlled by remotecontrols, most ranged from several hundred to ten
thousand yen.
Since the announcement of Sony’s Pet Robot, releaseannouncements of robots modeled upon dogs, cats,
bears, seals, etc, or home robots such ascommunication robots for independently living seniorcitizens, or personal robots have followed one after
another in Japan.

The home robot developed by Matsushita ElectricIndustrial Co., Ltd., with the purpose to serve as acommunication support device for senior citizens living
alone, has the external appearance of a stuffed animalbear or cat. In order to offer support for the home visit
surveys of senior citizens living alone conducted by cityand town welfare facilities, it is equipped with a voicecommunication function. According to the person in
charge of the development, the image communication
function using cameras could not be introduced because
it encountered strong negative reactions from the elderly.
After that, at the end of August 1999, NEC’s ‘Personal
Robot R100 has appeared to the scene. As shown in
the photograph, the R100 had a spherical head, and theexternal appearance has a relatively simple shape. In
terms of technology, it can move over flat ground bymeans of three wheels, and with a voice recognition
technology, it can distinguish the voice of its user, andcan understand spoken commands. In addition, it ispossible to take in images from two cameras, candistinguish who it is, and memorize this. Also, it canemit words and music, and is also equipped with verbal
message function. In this way the R100 is equippedwith every kind of high technology, and since its
announcement, they have begun to ask the society, via
the internet and other means, for the wide opinion onwhat kinds of uses can it be made as a home robot.

Another robot I would like to introduce is ‘PONG’ which iscurrently under development by IBM. This robot, withthe slogan of ‘See,’ ‘Speak,’ ‘Understand,’ aims toachieve real conversation with humans. Realization offunctions such as calculations based on voicerecognition, website searches, reading of displayed
websites, translation into English, etc, are scheduled.

I would like to briefly introduce the ‘pleasant lifestylesupport robot; Duck’s Robot’ development in which I am
participating. This home robot, with the themes of‘entertainment, security and communication,’ aims toprovide relaxation and flavor to the user’s household
lifestyle, and equipped with residential environment anduser security features, it aims to promote communication
between the users and society. The photo below
shows a zelkova wood model of the Ducks Robot now
under development.
The route in which home robots must progress toward, is
not to try to get closer to the thought and behavior ofhumans, but rather, to increase people’s zest in life, andto cheer up people’s lives. In that sense as well, I thinkthat Japanese traditional mechanical puppets cancontribute a guiding principle for home robots of the
future.
The model of the Ducks Robot now under development

R100(NEC) and PONG(IBM)The Route for Home Robots to ProgressSony’s AIBO that pioneered the market for home robots,broke the prevailing ironclad rule of utility and efficiency,
and was developed strictly with amusement in view.
Some people in Europe have criticized such robots as
AIBO and said that it is just a toy and not an industrial
product, and questioned why let a machine that looks likean animal come into the household. To respond tothese sorts of criticisms, the establishment of a system totheoretically evaluate the contribution level ofamusement and entertainment products to humanhappiness would be desirable.
It is said that the 21st Century will be the age ofindividuals and the age of sensitivity. It is certain that weare approaching the limit of the twentieth-century mass
production pursuit of efficiency. Another reason that
AIBO achieved popularity is because it made use of
artificial intelligence technology that was not useful forindustrial goods, and thereby made it into anautonomous robot in which the behaviors of individual
AIBO units could be distinguished.
The R100 and PONG that followed after the coming ofAIBO, are trying to bring to fruition the role of a ‘moving,speaking terminal unit’ to bring about a more humanfriendly application of the yearly increasing computer
technology into the household.

It is my sincere wish that the home robots originated inJapan will one day be accepted favorably with people in
the west.

No. 3 Japanese as Robot-Lovers

Edo Karakuri Masters were Universal Scientists
Suematsu Yoshikazu
Prof., Graduate School at University of Nagoya, Engineering Researches
Edo Karakuri (Gimmick) Masters Were Universal
Scientists
If I were to choose the three greatest Karakuri
masters in the Edo Period, the following would be listed:
Hanzo Yorinao Hosokawa (Karakuri Hanzo)
Hisashige Tanaka (Karakuri Giemon)
Benkichi Ohno (Benkichi Nakamura, Itto)
When the Tokugawa Shogunate sealed off thiscountry from the rest of the world, it also declared new
innovations and inventions unlawful and prohibitedindustrial mechanization in an attempt to concentrateadministrative control, save for those related to religious
and festive services. The common factor among the
aforementioned three Karakuri masters is that they weremore than skillful artisans of Karakuri mechanical dolls.
They were universal scientists, with extensive knowledgeof various science and technology fields such as
mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Edo Karakuri
masters like them have absorbed the Western scienceand technology obtained through Nagasaki andcontributed to the industrialization of Japan after its
opening in the Meiji era. It is not too much to say thatthese Edo Karakuri masters have built the foundation ofwhat became the technology giant that is the Japan
today.
The following is a brief history of these three greatest
Karakuri masters.
Hanzo Yorinao Hosokawa and His Work “Karakuri
Zuii (Illustrated Machinery)”Hanzo Yorinao Hosokawa (1741 – 1796) was bornin the feudal domain of Tosa . He learned carpentry andarchitecture when his father was building their family
house. He then took off to Kyoto to study astronomy andConfucianism. Record states that he built an
astronomical globe and a pedometer there. There is awell-known episode: when Hanzo left home to Kyoto at

the age of around 50, he inscribed a promise on a bridge
built across a small river in his hometown, saying, “I will
not cross this bridge again before I win a fame”.
His engineering blueprint “Karakuri Zuii (Illustrated
Machinery)” was published after Hanzo’s death in 1796.

Fig. 1 First Pages of “Karakuri Zuii”, Volumes One
and Two“Karakuri Zuii” consists of three volumes. The first
volume describes how to design and build four Japanesetypical ancient clocks; a wall clock, a tower clock, abedside clock, and a measuring clock. The second
volume contains how to build 9 types of mechanicalkarakuri dolls such as the tea serving doll, the tumbler
doll, and the magician doll, all with detailed drawings. The
book reveals the karakuri’s mechanical structure, which
is a brilliant utilization of gravity, magnetic force andelasticity, complete with tips and hints on the actual
manufacturing.
Published no less than 200 years ago, “Karakuri
Zuii” is a very rare manuscript even in global standards,
and is a very precious text of classic mechanicalengineering. Shoji Tachikawa and Shobei Tamaya VII
were able to reconstruct the “tea serving doll” thanks tothis “Karakuri Zuii”. Hanzo has pursued Westerncalendarology and has mastered mathematics, physics,
and astronomy. He was part of the shogunate calendar
researcher during the calendar reform of Kansei period.

Hisashige Tanaka, an Edison–typed Inventor
Hisashige Tanaka (1799 – 1880) a.k.a. Karakuri
Giemon was born as a son of an ornament craftsman in
Kurume. As a child he has been fascinated by looms andkarakuri shows during festivals. He hit the trail at the ageof 25, settled down in Osaka when he was 35, andstudied astronomy under the “Tsuchimikado Family”. He
opened his “Kikoudo (Karakuri-house)” in Kyoto when hewas 53. He was full of curiosity, always eager to learn all
his life, and he kept on creating “what the world wants,
and what the world needs”.

of the “Archer Doll” and the “Myriad Year Clock”, but also
as an inventor of many useful products for the common
people, one of which being the “Mujinto (Never FailingLamp)”.

Fig. 3 Hisashige Tanaka and the Mujinto (Never Failing Lamp)

Fig. 2 “Archer doll” (top) and“Myriad Year Clock”(right)※ Please see the first article of thiscolumn (July 2000) for details

The “Mujinto” utilizes the air pressure to improve thelamp oil supply and the light power. Some say it is thislamp that made possible night stalls.
Hisashige was invited as the refinery manager of
the Feudal Domain of Saga, where he made models of
steamboats and locomotives. shows samurais
surrounding the running locomotive model in the center,as well as a model of a steamboat in the right.

about the archer doll.

The name “Myriad Year Clock” is said to have comefrom its durability that lasts all year if you wind the spring
just once (220 days as investigated in Showa 20), orfrom its function as a daily calendar clock. “Myriad Year
Clock” has 6 faces. The first one is a Western time
display that uses the Swiss clock, the base mechanism
upon which all hands, including the ones on the otherfaces, are moving. The second face is the Japanese time
display (hour of the rat or the hour of dawn). The third
face is to remember the 24 season divisions in theJapanese old calendar; the fourth displays the sevendays of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). The
fifth face shows the Oriental Zodiac dates, and the sixthshows the moon phases and dates. The hexagonal baseon the bottom of the clock has some cloisonné picturesof rabbits, turtles and cranes, which is of high artistic
value. Furthermore, the top holds a display device thatindicates the current position of the sun and the moonover a map of Japan. What’s surprising is that the anglesof the sun’s career of the four seasons are identical tothat at Kyoto.
Hisashige Tanaka is not only famous as the builder

Fig. 4 The Saga-han Seirennkata Ezu (Saga Refinery Staff
Illustrated) and the Locomotive Model

In 1873 (Meiji 6), Hisashige (75 years old)
established Japan’s first machinery company, Chinki
Seisakujo, and engaged in building Morse telegraphs
and prototype telephones. His successor, Hisashige
Tanaka II, has established Tanaka Seisakujo andproduced measuring devices, home appliances,machine tools, cables and even iron bridges. This
Tanaka Seisakujo became Shibaura Seisakujo to Tokyo

Shibaura Seisakujo, which led to the current Toshiba.
Benkichi Ohno,Japan’sLeonardo Da Vinci
Benkichi Ohno (1801 – 1870) was born as a feather
ornament crafter’s son in Kyoto. He lived in the sameage as Hisashige Tanaka, though the paths he took werea striking contrast to that of Hisashige.
At the age of 20 he traveled to Nagasaki andstudied medicine, astronomy, physics and chemistry, andreached Korea from Tsushima and mastered equestrianart, gunnery, and mathematics. When he was around 30
years old he moved to his wife’s hometown in Ohno
Village, Ishikawa Prefecture; a small mountain village
where he stayed for the rest of his life. Unlike Hisashige,
who established an illustrious career in Kyoto and Tokyo,
Benkichi stayed serenely poor and hid himself in theshack up a mountain village. He was occasionallyconsidered weird or freak, but as more researches ofBenkichi are done, the more his great deeds wererevealed, and his appraisal soared until it eventually led
to the words of head researcher Kazuyoshi Suzuki of the
National Museum of Science, saying that he wasJapan’s Leonardo Da Vinci.

(Eight-Lined Calculation Chart)” “Sokuryo Sankakuho(Survey Trigonometry)” “Ohsho Kanreki (A Review on
Kanreki Calendar)", and made globes showing theCopernican system and surveying equipments for bankconstruction. He also made a camera by his own, andthere still exists a sheet of photograph that he took
himself together with his wife. “Itto Shikyuroku (All that Itto
has seen)”, another of Benkichi’s writings, is anequivalent of what we now call a science encyclopedia,
reviewing the latest science technology at that time in
medicine, physics, chemistry, and mechanicalengineering.
Why Benkichi did not move uptown to Kyoto orTokyo can be speculated by his words; “One cannot
create an ultimate invention without three things:
knowledge, money, and seclusion”. Benkichi used as
little expense as possible and respected knowledge andseclusion. That is indeed the reason why he wrote all
those books and attended the scientist’s salon thatexisted in the Feudal domain of Kaga in the late Edo
period, and taught younger people. One of his pupils was
Kichinosuke Tsuda, whose legacy is kept by the current
silk textile machinery specialist “Tsudakoma”.
Thus I have described how the three greatest Edo
Karakuri masters were not only gimmick artisans but
universal scientists that founded the modern Japan’s
industrialization.
th

20 Century was the time of Differentiation.
stThen what about the 21 Century?

Fig. 5 Netsuke Tea Serving Doll and “The Electricite”

A netsuke is something like a mobile phone strap
ornament. It is about a few centimeters tall, and if you put
a small ivory plate on it, it will move just like a tea serving
doll. It is a masterful work that proves the talent of
Benkichi’s sculpture.
“The Electricite” is an equivalent of a modern
electric massaging machine and it creates electricity by
Volta battery. The patient holds two rod with both hands
and will be inflicted with an electric shock as someone
else rotates the disc. Back in the days where there wereno enamel wires, Benkichi used silk threads to coverthem; he even invented a machine that wraps fine silkthreads around the wire.
Benkichi wrote books about astronomy andcalendar mathematics such as “Hassen Sansuu Hyo

Ever since Adam Smith indicated in his book “TheWealth of Nations” the economic results of differentiationthand segmentation, the 20 Century has been an era of
specification and labor division.
Inventionoftransistors,
innovationsofsemiconductors, and developments in microcomputers
have accelerated the automation and mass production,
enabling state of the art products to become available toconsumers at a price that is unbelievable some few
decades back. At the same time in the academics
specification and segmentation has progressed rapidly.
I wonder if there are any universal scientists like
Hisashige Tanaka and Benkichi Ohno in Japan today.
st
Am I the only one who wishes the 21 Century to be an
era of integration and fusion? These days I deliberately
try to see and feel various things out of my specialty andtry to squeeze out more time of seclusion from my daysof wallowing in never-ending meetings.

No. 4 Japanese as Robot-Lovers

Robot Contests Attract Young People
Suematsu Yoshikazu
Prof., Graduate School at University of Nagoya, Engineering Researches
Robot Contest Fever
One social phenomenon that indicates theJapanese people’s affection for robots is the robot
contest popularity. “Robot Sumo” “Micro Robot”“Soccer Robot” are only few of the long list of
regularly held robot contests. In this article I would
like to pick up two robot contests as an example toshow the backgrounds of its appeal.
Idea Showdown:Technical College Robot Contest 2000
Students from technical colleges throughout
Japan enter this competition to win through theregional tournaments to national championships. I
just happened to get a chance to commentate on the
Tokai and Hokuriku regional tournament this year, an
opportunity that enabled me to observe what thestudents are doing from up close.
The topic of this year 2000 was “Millennium
Message”. The robot is to move from the startingarea and place objects on 4 poles with different
heights; an object of which it depicts the message tost
the 21 Century.

Fig.1 Contest field

Please look at Fig. 1. The first half of theassignment is a time trial, in which you compete how
fast the robot will run from the starting position of 1m

squares and place the 4 objects on the poles 8m
away. The later half competes the performance, inwhich the robots must demonstrate for more than 10stseconds their message to the 21 Century using theobjects placed on the spots within a certain time
range.
What was unique about this year’s tournament isthat its assignment not only offered technicalchallenges such as how fast you can make the robot
put the objects on the poles with different heights
ranging from 150cm to 240cm, but also ones that
require sensitivity, such as how to express themillennium message and appeal to the audience.
How Technical College Students Tackled the
Problem
Each year’s robot contest assignment is presented
to the technical college students in the beginning ofJune. Students apply by first sending a paper thatshows their ideas as to how they plan to clear theassignments presented. 2 teams can participate
from each school. Tournaments in the Tokai and
Hokuriku regions are getting bigger by the year, andthis year, all technical colleges and commercial
colleges in the area have applied, which made a totalof 20 teams from10 schools to challenge thetournament on Nov. 5.
The students’ solutions to the technicalassignment of how to put an object on the 4 poles
were in wide variety, such as:① The robot climbs up the ladder and puts theobject from above② 4 assistant robots holding the objects climb up
the poles and place the objects③ The robot shoots the object aiming for the spot
④ The robot grows taller than the 4 poles and place
the objects from above
I was astonished by such a wide range ofmechanism used.
Toyama Commercial College’s attack arm teammade a robot that uses wooden star-shaped gear toclimb up the ladder, after which the robot will stretchout 4 arms as it reaches the top and place the object
on the poles with different heights. Its extended arms
moving for the spots reminded one of a swan
flapping its wings; a very beautiful sight indeed. Thismachine worked perfectly in the trial before thetournament, but at the tournament the next day the
robot did not fully get fixed on to the ladder top. It
was a shame the audience did not have the chance
to see its lovely form.

thand the past events of the 20 Century. Their display
methods varied too, from electronic boards to printeroutputs. Teppenjack of Toyota Technical College
astounded the others by its object on the highest
pole swelling to become a Victory sign shaped
balloon 5m large by the air pumped into from theblower fan.

Fig. 2 Attack arm
on measuring(ToyamaC.

C.)
Fig. 4 Teppenjack’s Victory Sign

Fig. 3 Teppenjackon trial(Toyota T. C.)
Fig. 2 Attack arm on measuring (Toyama C. C.)
Fig. 3 Teppenjack on trial (Toyota T. C.)

The Toyota Technical College team’s Teppenjackwon the Tokai and Hokuriku Tournament this year,
whose machine had a very original mechanism.
Starting from a robot with the size of 1 cubic meters,
it ended up 2m wide and 3m tall at the running zone,
stepping over all the 4 poles and placing the objects
from above.
The students’ ways of presenting their thoughts forthe millennium message were diverse also. Someraised environmental problems and showeddinosaurs, extinct species, and plant growth. Others
expressed the dream of space development projects

At the pit backstage, the students were making
final adjustments on their robots, and the place wasalways heated up with excitement. The students,
making their best fine-tunings in this cramped space,were very serious and the audience saw theiroverflowing passions.
Both the regional tournament and the national
championships for the Technical College Robot
Contest are aired on TV by NHK Television every
year, enjoying a great deal of popularity.
There was another robot competition called “Robot
Fishing Tournament 2000 in Tokushima”, where 192
robots from 42 prefectures participated. There was a
new meet for Junior High School students called
Creative Idea Robot Contest JHS Tournament, inwhich 66 teams mainly from the Kyushu region haveparticipated.
Toyota Idea Olympics 2000
The Idea Olympics by Toyota Motors had always
been a contest in which the contestants express
their dream vehicles in shape, but from this year, it
was changed to a robot contest style that has more
battle–like aspects, intended to invoke participation.

The 6 types of super–difficult assignments met by
the professional engineers included the following:

we generally see in amusement parks, but the net
sways and swings, creating a poor foothold for the
robots. Many of them actually were not able to climb
as much. However, it was amazing that 3 machines
out of the 19 contestants were able to clear all 8 of
the assignments, proving the contest’s to be truly aprofessional tournament.
What Draws Attraction to Robot Contests

Fig. 5 Toyota Robot Battle competition course① Barricade breakthrough② Rope walking③ Chimney climbing④ Raising Door
⑤ Climbing Over Wall
⑥ Net climbing⑦ Log crossing⑧ Rock jumping
This is an idea match of how many of these tasks thecontestants can carry out within a limited time. 19
robots ranging from 4kg to 68kg have challenged
these deadlock obstacles.

Fig. 6 A robot attempting chimney climbing“Chimney climbing” imposes the robot to climb a
60cm diameter vertical cylinder up 2m. The
engineers solved this issue by worm-crawls,
climbing ropes, and ladders.
The most difficult assignment was the “Netclimbing”. The machine must climb up the rope net

I had the chance to oversee personally in detailthe 2 robot contests, and was met by many common
circumstances in both tournaments; the contestant’s
passion, sudden malfunctions of robots, and theaudiences’ big, warm hand when the performanceended in success. The “allure of the robot contest”
can be cut down to the following points:① Spirit of craftsmanship that gives shape to ideas② Mood created by a trinity of robot, operator andthe audience③ Variety and happenings④ Originality and teamwork
Another appeal for participants of this contest isthat it is a rare chance to challenge something otherthan their regular studies or jobs. If I dare say further,
I believe the recent robot contest fever is contributedby the national trait of “robot-loving ”.
The current environment surrounding Japaneseyouth is not necessarily a society that invokesinterest or intrigue to science and technology. The
current engineering education in Japanese
universities are beginning to focus not on teaching
one–sided knowledge but on introducing “Creative
subjects” that allows the students use their own
minds and bodies to seek out solutions for a
problem.
I am hoping the robot contest boom we have thesedays will continue as a presence to play a part instcreating engineers that support 21 Century Japan,
a country that aims for a creative science technology
giant.

No. 5 Japanese as Robot-Lovers

Dashi (Carriage) Karakuri at Work in Festivals Everywhere
Suematsu Yoshikazu
Prof., Graduate School at University of Nagoya, Engineering Researches
The Chubu District as Center of Dashi karakuri“Karakuri dolls”, the root of robots to the Japanesepeople, are categorized into Zashiki karakuri (room dolls),
Butai karakuri (theater puppets), or Dashi karakuri(carriage puppets), depending on where it is performed.
Tea-serving dolls and archer dolls are some of therepresentative Zashiki karakuri dolls, and the Takeda
Karakuri, a show that raged the Japanese people back in
the Edo era is a Butai karakuri. And the karakuri puppet
performed on the top stage (called Uwayama) of
carriages used in festivals throughout Japan is the Dashi
karakuri.
Dashi karakuri dolls are the leading stars of festivals in
50 areas all around Japan every year, from Hitachi City in
Ibaragi prefecture up north and Ojiya City in Niigata
prefecture to Yame City in Kyushu down south.
Stretching from Handa City in the Chita peninsula aswell as Hekinan, Nagoya, Inuyama, Tsushima cities in
Aichi prefecture via the cities of Mino, Takayama,
Furukawa in Gifu prefecture to Shinminato andFig.1 print of Toshogu Festival in Nagoya(Meiji era)

Takaoka Cities in Toyama prefecture, are areas called
the Dashi Karakuri Road. 70% of the country’s Dashi
karakuri concentrate in this region related to the former
feudal domain of Owari.
thBack then, the 8 Shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa
prohibited the creation of new machinery and devices(inventions and innovations) (1726). However, its sole

exceptions were those related to religious and festiveth
affairs. On the other hand, Muneharu Tokugawa, the 7
Lord of Owari who was deprived of his shogunate by thisYoshimune, was a party lover and festival-goer by nature.
With his backup, the Toshogu Festival became grander
and flamboyant despite Yoshimune’s economy thrift
policy. Dashi karakuri of regions surrounding Nagoya
shows greats influence of the Toshogu festival. Puppet
masters(called Degushi) of Owari such as Shobei
Tamaya, Jibun Kito, Tokichi Takeda, and Nihei Sumida
produced intricately worked-out karakuri dolls (wooden
robots) one after another.
The Mechanism of Dashi karakuri
A Dashi karakuri is usually composed of 2 to 3 karakuri
puppets. Most likely they deal with Noh plays or myths or
folklores. The Seven Lucky Gods such as Daikoku andHotei, or characters like Urashima Taro and the Benkei
are popular materials for karakuri dolls. Also there aremany dolls that depict children in Chinese or Korean
costumes called Karako. This Karako was obviously
derived from the influence of the Korean periodical
ambassador that had continued since the Ashikaga
government till the Meiji era.
How to operate the Dashi karakuri is roughly divided
into “string karakuri” and “stunt karakuri”.
A “string karakuri” is a karakuri that uses 10 to 30
something strings to move the puppet, which takes 2 or 3
people to manipulate from above. These puppets holddrums, bells, and fans and dances along with the beat.
Some karakuri changes masks instantly from a priestessto a dragon god, bodhisattva to a lion, or a handsome
boy into a Shojo(an imaginary monkey-like animal).
Some other karakuri transforms itself into shrines or
shrine gates, entertaining the eyes of the audience.
A “stunt karakuri” are puppets such as the Karako dolls
pulling stunts, such as jumping onto platforms / branches
and doing a one-arm handstand, climbing up a bar anddoing giant swings, jumping onto branches one after
another (Aya watari), or climbing up stakes positioned
like staircases one step at a time (Rangui watari).

Fig. 3 Karakuri performance in front of the Harigane Shrine in the
Inuyama Festival

Fig. 2 Two sashiganes (rod with strings to manipulate dolls) areused to make a Karako handstand on the platform

As shown in above figure, the puppet’s head, arms
and legs are manipulated by a rod called sashigane,
which are inserted from the doll’s bottom. First thepuppeteer place the puppet’s hand on the platform thenpulls the sashigane out. Then he inserts a newsashigane through the hand placed on the platform andmakes the puppet do a handstand, and operate so thepuppet will ring the bell while shaking its head.
Of course the two sashiganes will be manipulated
where it cannot be seen from the audiences. From thecrowd the puppet will dance as it approaches theplatform, places one hand on it and flips over for amagnificent handstand, ringing the bell proudly.
Next I would like to introduce the 2 characteristic
examples of the carriage festival that has been held formore than 3 centuries in this area, from a tradition
keeping and development points of view.
Succession, Creativeness, and Development of theInuyama Festival
The origin of the Inuyama Festival is said to be Kanei 12(1635). It has been held every year since then, except
thShowa 20(1945), and it is the 367 this year. The
Inuyama Festival began as an event for the Haritsuna
Shrine, located on the mountainside of Inuyama Castle,a national treasure.

I first saw the Inuyama Festival about 5 years ago. 13
carriages with triple decks from each district lined up at
the Harigane Station Square, just 15 minutes walk from
Meitetsu Inuyama Line. Each carriage will perform their
tricks that date back to the Edo era. In the evening, thecarriages are illuminated by 365 lanterns and the
Yoyamas, with its candlelight swaying, line up to parade
the town. My first impression of the Inuyama Festival,
while being swept along in the crowd, was “I can see all I
want here to the full extent”. Since then, I visit the
Inuyama Festival every year. Below are the reasons why
this festival has been more alluring by the year:(1) In an attempt to have more people see themagnificent “Dashi karakuri” or “Yoiyama”, 6
carriages move not only to Harigane Shrine Square
but also to the Inuyama Station Square to performthe karakuri.
(2) In the autumn festival karakuri dolls from 13 districts
are lined up in Harigane Square, making sure the
karakuri is shown in front of the audience.
(3) Inuyama people are interchanging with Kashimo
Village, Gifu prefecture, and Nichinan City,
Kagoshima prefecture, and invite each other to their
festivals, broadening the scope of the cultural
performances.
(4) Various cultural spreading efforts are being made;there are facilities such as karakuri doll displays andreference library with Shobe Tamaya IX’s Karakuri
Craft Center, and “Dondenkan” where 3 carriages
are regularly exhibited.
(5) The Inuyama Festival Perseverance Committee isvery open and keeps active interaction with
Takayama, Chichibu, and Gion Festivals, trying tokeep in touch with neighboring perseverance
committees.

The karakuri culture is Inuyama’s pride, and Mayor
Yoshihiro Ishida’s attempts in adopting this to elementaryand junior high school’s classes. The activities of highschool student’s karakuri promotion clubs are some ofthe other sources that support and develop the Inuyama
Festival.
The Kutami Festival – Its Unique Technique andRare Succession Style
Kutami is a part of Yaotsu Town in Kamo County, Gifu
Prefecture, and is located in the highlands spreading in
the mountains above Maruyama Dam. The Kutami
Festival has a 400 years history since the early Edordperiod, and is held in the 3 weekend of April in Shinmei
and Shirahige Shrines, which are the guardian gods of
Ryoguchi and Kutami. 6 glamorous carriages are pulled
out and on the stage of the carriages we see someunique karakuri doll plays every year.
First, the carriages are 2 wheeled, double-decked
structure so it can move easily through narrow roads andsteep hills. When offering the karakuri performances, thecarriages are supported from all 4 sides by bamboo
poles, where the second deck will rise up. Its roof islacquered and varnished, decorated by gold and silver
fittings and impressive carvings. The sight of 6 carriages
neatly lining up in front of the shrine surrounded by trees
is astounding.
The karakuri technique of Kutami is called a “stringcutting karakuri”, a unique technique that is neither “string
karakuri” nor “stunt karakuri”.

than 400 years.
(1) Every year, each district must produce a new
karakuri doll play. From classic tales of a long-neckwoman, a shrine priest’s step-climbing, and Benkei
on a bridge, to contemporary issues such as national
capital relocation issue and space walking, ideas of
karakuri dolls are made freely.
(2) The strict protocols of festival staffs of non-drinking,no romantic flirtation, and security restriction inreleasing the karakuri tricks are still observed.
(3) Karakuri doll stages are wrapped securely except inkarakuri performances for the shrine, and arecovered as soon as the performance is over. It is theone and only chance for the creator, operator, andaudience. This seriousness is akin to the robot
contest.

Fig. 5 The string-cutting karakuri for the Kutami Festival in “Capital
Relocation”

Fig. 4 Base of string-cutting karakuri (base and foot)The foot of the base is a wheel, in which 4 men pullwith ropes inside the O-hi to rotate. Then they will place
the stage where the karakuri is performed on top of thatbase. In other words, they use the 4 wheel’s crank effort
to create various karakuri tricks enjoyed by the audience.
What’s amazing is that the karakuri performanceschange every year!
I will speculate as to why this Kutami Festival in such asmall town up a mountain was able to continue for moreThus I have introduced two contrasting Dashi karakuri
festivals of Inuyama and Kutani; but they are common inthat they try to pass down the fun of creating to thechildren and the young generation. It should not be amere coincidence that the areas concentrated with Dashi
karakuri festivals are the center of the global industrial
technology today.

(Final)Japanese as Robot-Lovers

Where the Path of Robot Should Lead
Suematsu Yoshikazu
Prof., Graduate School at University of Nagoya, Engineering Researches

For one year I have had the privilege ofwriting 6 episodes in this series entitled“Japanese as Robot-Lovers”. In this series I havepresented my opinion that the Japanese people’s
robot image was developed in the Edo era by
karakuri technology, and unlike Europeans, they
have a favorable image toward robots, and that iswhat enabled the massive industrial robotizationthat supported the Japanese manufacturingindustry. Also I have stated that the Edo karakuri
masters were universal scientists, and that thetechnology seen in Dashi karakuri in festivals
nationwide and the Idea Robot Contests havecontributed greatly in handing down thetechniques and technology.
In my final article I would like to mention theway industrial robots and home robots should be
and the paths they should take.
Evolution of Industrial Robots
The first industrial robot was introduced by US
GM. It was a one-arm robot called Unimate andoccupied a lot of floor space. They were adopted
for material handling, welding, painting, andassembling. In Japan robots have been
introduced widely from the mid 1980s, enabling“good products at low price”.
Looking back at the industrial robot
development process in Japan, they haveconstantly leaded the world and have leveled up,
becoming more intricate. At first, the robots
occupied too much space and were so dangerous
it did not allow people near, but as the downsizing
and speeding have progressed, we now see
many lines with humans and robots working side
by side. Also, the robots developed fromperforming simple tasks such as painting andwelding into multiple-armed robots that cancomplete sophisticated assembly. Fig. 2 shows
the two-arm robot that Toyota Motor Company
introduced in the 1990s for engine parts
assembly.

Fig. 1 First industrial robot Unimate

Robots with optical function equivalent tohuman eyes and mobile robots that can change
working position according to the task have also
been developed and are currently operating inmany plants. Furthermore, some cases show
more than one mobile robot autonomously
cooperating with each other to assemble parts.
The grouped robot system that Denso
Corporation developed 2 years ago is acombination of 6 axis robot arms that handles
various tasks and a mobile robot with a runningplatform that enables it to move in high-speed. It
can adjust the number of operating units
according to the production volume. The robots
can exchange information obtained during thetasks and cope with environmental changes
efficiently, a realization of a flexible production
system in itself (Fig. 3). Also, the electronic part
installer that assembles accurately and in highspeed a micro electronic part on a board is also a
robot, which have been leading the world up to
this day.

Fig.2

Two-armed

Robot(Toyota)
Fig.3 Autonomous
Cooperating

In Western countries the robot researches are
not as free as in Japan. They have the history oflimiting their researches to military, aerospace,and medicinal usages. I have been told by many
overseas researchers that they “envy Japanese
universities which allows such a wide range of
research”. This is also caused by the favorable
image the Japanese people have over robots,
and its origin goes back to the Edo karakuri
culture.
Now, I would like to express my thoughts as tothe problem points of robot development
processes so far and the form in which theyshould be in the future.
As a point of problem, I would first like toindicate that most of the industrial robots so far
are ones that have been introduced to mass
production lines, and are limited in doing a
specific task. Secondly, that the industrial robot
development and introduction is concentrated onlarge enterprises only; and third, that the multipurpose robot development for tasks such as
visual inspection of completed products andmicro products assembly has been staggeringbehind.
The environment that surrounds the Japanese
product making is in a severely challenged stage.
The de-industrialization caused by the personnel
cost difference between the neighboring Asian
countries, as well as the draining of skills as acountry as a whole, and the young people’sinterests shifting away from science andtechnology are some of those.
The way Japan’s industrial robots should takemust first be the development of a robot that canreplace the work that is commonly shared in thewhole manufacturing industry but is still done byhuman hands (aforementioned visual inspection
and small parts assembly, for example). And
humans should administer the robot management,
carry out inspection and make appropriate
adjustment for them. Secondly, it is necessary tocreate not a robot that specializes in only one task,
but a multi-purpose robot, which means a single
robot doing multiple tasks. Thirdly, it should bemade sure to design a human-oriented robot that
operates safely as well as easily.
Development of the above industrial robots thatcan be introduced to manufacturing industries
including small companies are strongly called
upon for in forms of national major projects. And
many products making lineside should train
people that can operate and administer robots,
whose ideas will then create another robot. Suchcirculatory system must be made.
Ways of Home Robotsnd

I have mentioned about home robots in the 2
article of this series, “The Start of the Home
Robot Era” (November issue, 2000). Sony’s AIBO,
which had become the first of the Japanese homerobots are still winning popularity. AIBO, as its
developer comments, is an “entertainment robot”,
not a “pet robot”. It must be noted that its dog-likeappearance is only because that figure was morefamiliar to humans. However, when mass media
reports about AIBO they compare with real pet
dogs and emphasizes points such as it can be
kept in apartments, or you can go out withoutworrying about feeding them, a notion that
bothers me. Robots being replacements of live
dogs and cats is exactly what the Westerncountries are apprehensive about. For example,
although fake flowers look like real ones and will
not wither, it can never replace real flowers thatyou must water and care. I believe that is exactlynd
why the 2 generation AIBO has changed its
shape to something that is neither a dog or a cator a lion, so that it will not be identified as dogs.
The root of home robots is the “Tea-serving
doll”, which I have mentioned before as a perfectrole model. It is obvious the tea-serving doll is not
used because the host is too lazy to bring the tea

himself. Its primary role is to entertain, so that theguests are delighted to see the tea-serving dolland enjoy the moment.

Fig. 4 AIBO and tea-serving dollI think that the major purpose of home robots
should be limited to entertainment for the time
being. Even if nursing and caring robots shouldcome into homes, at this point I would like todistinguish them from home robots. If they were
to be installed, I think they should be installed with
an operator (human) who can cope with sudden
turnouts.
Afterword
This summer, in Suzuka Circuit, there was a
joint event of traditional karakuri and the latest
state-of-art robots, ending very successful. It wasa united performance of Shobe Tamaya IX’s
stake-hopping karakuri “Karasu Tengu” andHonda’s bipedal robot “ASIMO”. A stake-opping
karakuri is a karakuri unique to the Tokai Area, inwhich a doll with sandals climbs the stair-lined
stakes one step at a time. It can be said it is thefather of bipedal robot. ASIMO is the latest modelof autonomous bipedal robot P2, P3. It turned intoa very compact form, 120cm tall and 42kg in
weight.
I looked through the event all day, but thecontrast of the two robots was striking. People
from adults to children were applauding
enthusiastically in both performances of the
traditional Karasu Tengu and the ASIMO.

Fig. 5 Karasu Tengu and ASIMO in Suzuka Circuit

There are many factors that link Edo karakuri
and the current key technology. For example, thefolding techniques that the Dashi karakuri uses
when puppets transform into shrines are used in
the invention of folding umbrellas, solar battery
panels for satellites, and the folding technology of
panorama antennas. The karakuri techniques ofthe long-neck woman whose neck can stretch
and retract swiftly are utilized in elephant nose
robots that extends freely through cramped
spaces, and the motor control technology ofendoscopes for colons.
Japanese are robot lovers, all the more reason
why we should correctly recognize therelationship between human society and robots,and produce robots that can perform in various
fields. Karakuri loving, robot loving Japanese, I
believe strongly, will establish the new productmaking industrial development under this harsh
Japanese environment of administrative reforms
and industrial restructuring.
Author’s homepage “Karakuri Frontier”
http://suelab.nuem.nagoya-u.ac.jp/suematsu/karafro.html