Higashiyama palace doll artisans turn their talents to Year of the Snake collection.

A unique quirk of New Year’s in Japan is that the country goes by the solar/Gregorian calendar and has its celebrations on January 1, but it still observes the ordinarily lunar calendar custom of Chinese zodiac animals. That means that the Year of the Snake will be starting simultaneously with 2025 in Japan, and Starbucks Japan is already getting in the mood with a new art collaboration with a 165-year-old Kyoto doll and figurine maker.

Shimada Koen first started crafting its wares in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district all the way back in 1859, and here in the modern age they’ve periodically partnered with Starbucks as part of the coffee company’s Jimoto Made series, in which Starbucks offers works from artisans representing different regions of Japan. Oftentimes these take the form of beautiful ceramic cups or other drinking vessels, but just like they did last year, Shimada Koen is producing Chinese zodiac figurines for Jimoto Made, starting with a trio of snakes in gold, white, and black.

Shimada Koen’s specialty is gosho ningyo, or “palace dolls.” Gosho ningyo are earthenware figures of chubby babies and small children, with the amply nourished tykes conveying the idea of robust healthy growth and thus seen as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity in general. Gosho ningyo first became a popular New Year’s gift among members of the imperial court, after which the practice spread to samurai clans and commoner households.

For its Year of the Snake figurines, Shimada Koen has taken their expertise with gosho ningyo and adapted that cuddly cuteness to the serpentine form, with the contrast with the animals’ calm expressions giving them a subtly silly charm. Each snake also bears a star, the emblem of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, on its coils.

In addition, Shimada Koen has also made a pair of Year of the Snake earthenware bells, in white and gold, with more elaborate detailing.

Earthenware bells, called dorei in Japanese, are traditionally said to ward off disasters and calamities when hung or placed in your home.

Also part of this New Year’s collection from Shimada Koen is a unique maneki neko/beckoning cat with a tiger motif…

…and two different gosho ningyo, a large one holding a bag for treasures…

…and a smaller one with a fukudama/lucky ball, the traditional Kyoto New Year’s trinket that’s sort of the great-great-grandfather of Japan’s modern day gachapon capsule toys.

Given Shimada Koen’s lengthy professional pedigree, it’s higher-end pieces command premium prices, but their New Year’s collection for Starbucks includes affordable items too. The Year of the Snake figurines are just 1,600 yen (US$11) each, and the Year of the Snake earthenware bells and small gosho ningyo probably won’t shatter your budget either, at 4,900 yen and 4,700 yen. For those with deep pockets, though, the beckoning cat tiger and large gosho ningyo are 55,000 and 60,000 yen, respectively.

The entire collection is on sale as of December 13, and while there is a Jimoto Made online shop, the Shimada Koen New Year’s items are currently available exclusively at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo in Tokyo’s Nakameguro neighborhood, where we recently took our revenge for not being able to score one of their coveted lucky bags.

Related: Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo
Source: Starbucks Japan
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