Clowning Around

These kids were playing around the kokeshi doll cutout.

From Wikipedia:

Kokeshi (こけし, kokeshi?), are Japanese dolls, originally from northern Japan. They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and an enlarged head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face. The body has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist.

The origin and naming of kokeshi is unclear,[1] with historical ateji kanji spellings including 小芥子, 木牌子, 木形子, 木芥子, 木削子, etc. The hiragana spelling こけし was agreed on at the All-Japan Kokeshi Exhibition (全国こけし大会) in Naruko Onsen in August 1939.

Kokeshi were first produced by Kiji-shi (wood artisans) at the Shinchi Shuraku, near the Togatta Onsen, Zaō, Miyagi Prefecture[5] from where kokeshi making techniques spread to other spa areas in the Tōhoku Region. It is said that these dolls were originally made during the middle of the Edo period (1600–1868) to be sold to people who were visiting the hot springs in the north-east of the country.