'These dolls date back to the 1600s when Nagamasa Kuroda, a feudal lord, began to rule the area. During the construction of Kuroda's castle, a tile maker named Soshichi Masaki offered him dolls made of tile clay, which is believed to be the origin of the Hakata doll.'

Presumably, this is one of the vintage dolls brought back from the Second World War as a souvenir, and helped raise their popularity to a global scale.