The Vintage Dakko Chan Winky Blinky inflatable doll with lenticular eyes is a rare and unique collectible item from the circus and carnival theme. Signed by the manufacturer Takara 6405, this souvenir is sure to delight collectors of historical memorabilia. Its distinctive feature of lenticular eyes adds an extra element of fun and nostalgia to any collection. This one-of-a-kind item would be a standout piece for any enthusiast of vintage circus memorabilia.
The one toy that was probably the most popular in the world in 1960 appeared during the summer in Japan. It was a little black inflated vinyl dakkochan ('embraceable') doll. Manufactured first as a baby's plaything, the odd little doll soon became a craze with teen-agers and housewives. The toys soon appeared in the United States where they are called Winkie dolls."
In the hottest craze to hit Japan since the Hula Hoop, Tokyo department stores were filled with scrambling, stumbling, shoving teen-agers fighting to spend 180 yen (50¢) for a squeaking, winking, black-skinned dakkochan ('embraceable') doll."
"With over 300,000 dakkochans sold in the past two months, the odd little doll intended for toddlers now embraces Japanese teenagers' arms and handbags, housewives' broomhandles, children's strollers. It wriggles on the bodies of strip-teasers in burlesque houses, clings nonchalantly to girls clinging to their boyfriends on speeding motorcycles."
"The dakkochan is the brainchild of Yoshihiro Suda, 27, planning chief for Japan's toymaking Tsukudaya Co."2
"Japanese intellectuals, who can be pretty crazy themselves, have been quick to discover social significance in the dakkochan's black skin. Citing the growing popularity of Negro jazz. Artist Setsu Nagasawa argues that 'a Negro culture wave seems to be sweeping Japanese youth.' Novelist Tensei Kawano, who has featured Negroes in four books, asserts: 'We of the younger generation are outcasts from politics and society. In a way we are like Negroes, who have a long record of oppression and misunderstanding, and we feel akin to them.'"
The character was created and launched in Japan in the 1960s. Loved not only by children and teenagers, but it was also popular among adults. People wear dakko-chan dolls on their arms and eventually, it became a booming trend at the time. When the media covered this, they started to call it Dakko Chan. Because as the name implies, ‘dakko’ means to hug, the doll can be attached to the arm as if hugging its owner. This air-filled plastic doll was originally produced by Takara Vinyl in Yokohama.
.As time passes by, Dakko Chan cannot meet the market demand. Fakes and replicas began to appear. It was said that to know for sure the originality of Dakko Chan, their eye can blink because it was made using a lenticular printing technique.
Dakocan was also very popular in Indonesia, many trademarks with Dakocan images emerges in the early 1960s. They appear in food products, from biscuits, kuaci, candy, to cooking spices, vinegar, toiletries such as soap and candles. Pak Kasur, the writer of the popular children’s song, composed a one titled ‘Dakocan’.