They have been making figures from clay since at least the 18th century, possibly much earlier. Probably they started out by making figures to temples and then added figures for export to their line of products when the China trade got going. Quite possibly there are still exhibition catalogs from these exhibitions available. The easiest way to find one of these would be to try some of my book links. This information is given as an example of private conversation only and is not intended to be used as a promotion of any individual piece.
All opinions is the authors and is given as such with all hazards of judging anything from a photo.