Japan conceding the love doll market as Chinese manufacturers go high-tech

TOKYO — Sex aids in Japan have a long history. In more recent times, full-size, life-like manikins, referred to as "Dutch Wives" or "Love Dolls," have found popular use as sex substitutes for the handicapped, widowers, and men who for one reason or another are unable to marry. 

In his book "The Underground History of Showa," the late Tsunenori Ono, who headed the Vice Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, wrote about the two "Benten" dolls who accompanied Japanese explorers to Antarctica in 1957. 

"The average age of the team was 37 years," Ono wrote. "They were in robust physical condition but as there were no women, how would they deal with their urges? A portion of the public were quite concerned about this.

"I later heard that a doll had been produced that was just like the real thing. The body was made using latex or sponge materials that gave it the elasticity of a real woman, and its body could be kept warm using a heating element similar to that in an electric blanket. 'That part' was precision-made of rubber and could be removed from the body after use for cleaning."

Over the past several decades, Japanese shokunin (master craftsmen) have been long recognized as having a passion for their work, endowed as they are with an almost uncanny ability to innovate by applying new technologies as soon as they become available.

Most important of all was how they sought to get inside the minds of users to create products that would provide both physical gratification and psychological satisfaction.

Best known among Japan's manufacturers was Tokyo-based Orient Industries -- whose lineup of voluptuous love dolls defined the state of the art for decades.  The company received heavy media coverage when it announced its closure in September 2024.

To serve the current market, Chinese manufacturers have stepped in, and as Weekly Playboy (May 4) reports, have been producing remarkably realistic latex ladies -- what the magazine calls "Chuuka Labu Dooru" (Chinese love dolls) -- since around 2015. 

"The dolls are not only used for sexual purposes, but also by hobby photographers and men like myself who take pleasure in cohabitating with them," says Li Chen, a 68-year-old man in rural Guizhou Province who shares his abode with eight dolls -- almost enough for a baseball team -- and has been nicknamed "the Love Doll Hermit." 

"I also own an Orient Kogyo doll, but her facial features are too childish, making cosplay photoshoots less enjoyable," Li added. "The articulation of her limbs is also inferior to high-end Chinese-made products. 

Meanwhile in central Taiwan, Cheng Da (age 46) and his wife Haru (age 42) operate "Mitica,"  a love doll cafe, in Taichung City. 

In addition to charming customers on the cafe  premises, Cheng began selling and renting  dolls online from 2019. The couple have since opened branch stores in Taipei and Kaohsiung. 

The Chengs recently collaborated with a manufacturer in China to produce a lifelike facsimile of tattooed, voluptuous Taiwanese actress Meng Ruoyu. 

Even the less expensive dolls are priced at well over 100,000 Japanese yen, and one downside of ownership is arranging for maintenance. 

"If you send it back to the factory in China, you get charged duty, which can run about 50,000 Japanese yen," says Cheng. "Tack on the shipping charges and you're looking at a lot of money. So we have started up a 'doll hospital' to conduct repairs, so now we can support the after-sales service as well." 

According to Cheng, only about 30% of his customers use the dolls for sexual gratification, with the remainder content to enjoy their companionship. 

A cafe patron named Chen Guobao, who works as a taxi driver, told the reporter "Coming home after working a long shift, I feel lonely and want something soft and gentle that I can  touch..."

Chen's tranquil home life, however, was rudely disrupted when his mother encountered the doll. At first glance, she thought she had discovered a woman's corpse and issued a piercing scream. 

"Dressing and undressing the doll up got to be a hassle, so I'd left her nude on the floor and just draped a bath towel over her," explained an embarrassed Chen, whose secret lover was also revealed to his father and younger brother. 

The writer reports that China's manufacturers  have made impressive strides and are  experimenting with AI to give the dolls an ever greater realism. Prices for the top-of-the-line SINO-DOLL can run as high as 730,000 Japanese yen. Since the doll is equipped with an AI voice processer, she can also converse with her owner. 

The aforementioned Li explained the dolls can be classified into two main types: those made with TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomers), which is inexpensive and soft but prone to oiliness and a flat, lifeless appearance; and silicone, which excels at replicating the texture of human skin but tends to feel harder than a real woman's body. 

"Thanks to the continuous technological innovations of Chinese manufacturers in recent years, a miracle silicone compound has been developed with resilience comparable to TPE, achieving a 'girl of one's dreams' with softness that approximates a real woman," Li remarked.  

For decades since its founding in 1949, People's China was known for sexual prudery and for decades the country maintained a strict one-child policy meant to discourage population growth. Initially the love dolls were classified as "health devices" with sales accorded tacit approval. 

At present, however, China's government has reversed its previous policies, spurring the birth of a major industry whose various manufacturers have been competing fiercely  for dominance. 

Owing to the male-female imbalance in China's  population, the main consumers for Chinese love dolls are men who are unlikely to ever marry; they number in the tens of millions. The government sees their possession of silicone companions as useful for maintaining the social order.

© Japan Today