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Miss Tokyo-shi represents the city of Tokyo and is by Okamoto Menya Shojirō, artist name Menshō XII. Her personal name is Tokyo Hanako and her kimono bears the Tokyo shishõ (Tokyo City Crest).
Miss Tokyo-shi was always intended to be placed in New York City and, as a consequence, did not travel much prior to her placement at the American Museum of Natural History in January of 1929.
Correspondence from the early 1930s indicate that she was displayed in the Education Hall on the second floor of the School Services Building and was being seen by thousands of school children annually and was a popular object among educators.
Although there is an abundance of records relating to her display and placement at the American Museum of Natural History, Miss Tokyo-shi is, sadly, one of our missing dolls.
The Museum does retain a number of her original furnishings bearing the Tokyo city crest and their fitted silk covers, along with elements of her tea sets. Interestingly they also retain Miss Tokyo-shi’s original companion doll, though this smaller doll’s head has been replaced.