Tokushima-ken is also known for its manufacture of bunraku puppets and deko dolls carved from paulownia wood and used in the Awa Puppet Ballad Dramas. The raw material is pulp from Japanese mulberries cultivated in the nearby mountains. Two more famous paper products are tosa kites and banners. The kites are painted in bold colors that have symbolic meaning. Traditionally they were flown on New Year's Day and by fathers celebrating the birth of a son.
Today considered folk art, they grace many living-room walls.
Paper koi, usually flown in May to celebrate the birth of a son, represent heroes from times past, especially the baby warrior Kintaro. A specialty of the region is a daruma, known as okiagari, whose original design was borrowed from Tokyo in the early 1800s. The first coral in Japan was discovered off the shores of Kochi during the Edo period. Today the three types of coral are classified by color as red, white, and pink. Carved into all manner of jewelry, they are not only sold in Kochi but are exported all over the world.