Kōko

A kōko [秡子; こうこ] is a kind of soft-bodied doll given to young, expectant mothers in Kanton, typically those who are experiencing their first pregnancy. They are thought to protect both the mother and the fetus from malicious spirits and ill fortune. According to tradition, they should be gifted to a mother by either her sister or sister-in-law. Up until the 15th century [although continuing in some regions], kōko were not given to mothers, but to newborn babies on the seven-day anniversary of their birth. The baby would keep the doll throughout the rest of its childhood.
The kōko was made of silk and stuffed with wool roving. It would have pleasing features embroidered or painted onto its face, and would be bald, just like a newborn baby. They were deliberately made to be devoid of gender. Typically kōko were unclothed, with featureless, simplified bodies. In many parts of Kanton, particularly in peasant culture, kōko were simplified to the extreme, as either a cloth head on a stick of wood, or a head attached to an oblong, limbless torso. In contrast, wealthy or high-ranking women could receive incredibly intricate and detailed dolls, complete with clothes, hair, and tiny hands and feet.