In Photos: Tokyo shop's traditional 'kumade' charms rake in fortune and good luck

A craftsperson completes the picture of a child dressed in Chinese clothes which is attached onto a slender bamboo stick to be used as part of a "kumade" lucky rake ornament, at the workshop Takarabune-kumade in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

A "treasure ship kumade" ornament decked with lucky symbols is seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Kyoko Yoshida, fourth-generation head of Takarabune-kumade Yoshida, is seen positioning slender bamboo sticks of lucky motifs on the base of a kumade rake ornament at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Kumade lucky rake ornaments of various sizes with a treasure ship theme are seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. Pictured in the back is a custom-made product with a length of about 30 centimeters. The mochi rice cake motif, placed at the center of the ornament and usually hidden among other symbols in large-sized kumade, are visible in the small ones that measure around 6 cm or shorter, seen at the bottom right. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

A kumade ornamental lucky rake is seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

A craftsperson completes the picture attached to a slender bamboo stick to be used as part of a "kumade" lucky rake ornament, at the workshop Takarabune-kumade in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

At Takarabune-kumade Yoshida, the kumade ornaments' lucky motifs, called "toys," are created by cutting paper into each shape using templates, attaching them onto slender bamboo sticks and adding paint in the order that has been passed down from earlier generations. The toys are dried every time a new color is added, and the tasks are split up among the shop's craftspeople. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

The order in which the picture of a kumade lucky motif is painted in is shown in this image taken at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

A workspace where slender bamboo sticks with lucky motifs are inserted into the base of a kumade rake ornament is seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Kumade lucky motifs with "sanbaso" dancers are seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Kumade lucky motifs with the illustration of a child dressed in Chinese clothes are seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

This Nov. 10, 2014 photo shows people chanting and performing ceremonial rhythmic clapping before a booth lined with kumade lucky rakes at the Tori-no-ichi festival of Ohtori Shrine in Tokyo. (Mainichi/Naoaki Hasegawa)

Green bamboo pieces which serve as the handle for kumade lucky rake ornaments, and are combined with the rake teeth part resembling a "bear claw" (the literal translation of "kumade"), are seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Kumade lucky motifs with a sea bream design are seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. Their roundish shape and bumpy surface representing the scales are created by pressing the paper onto a template. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Cutters used to cut out the shape of each lucky motif are seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. As factories making these cutters are on the decline, the shop is gradually replacing them with newer types pictured in the back. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Bamboo material used to create kumade ornamental lucky rakes is seen at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Kyoko Yoshida, fourth-generation head of Takarabune-kumade Yoshida, is seen holding a kumade lucky rake ornament at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Kyoko Yoshida, fourth-generation head of Takarabune-kumade Yoshida, is seen holding a kumade lucky rake ornament at Takarabune-kumade Yoshida in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

Ohtori Shrine is seen in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

A "nade-okame" mask of a woman with a short nose and round cheeks is seen at Ohtori Shrine in Tokyo's Taito Ward on Oct. 7, 2021. Rubbing the face is said to bring good luck. Okame motifs are also used in some types of kumade ornaments. (Mainichi/Akinori Miyamoto)

This image shows people at the Tori-no-ichi festival in 1937. (Provided by Takarabune-kumade Yoshida)

The painting "Thirty-six Views of the Pride of Edo, a Fair Held on the Day of Rooster, a Famous Rake," by Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Toyokuni, is seen in this image taken from the National Diet Library digital archives.