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Narugo is a place in the Tohoku region of northern Japan where there are many hot springs. In this part of Japan, the wood craftsman had to be licensed to work with wood. The felling of trees was controlled to protect the resource. So with any little bits left over, the craftsman turned them on a lathe and made these dolls with no arms and legs, just a cylindrical body and head. To begin with they were given to the craftsman's children as toys, but they started to be bought as souvenirs by the visitors to the hot springs. As they were made from a type of wood that was very 'sappy', know as water wood, the dolls were believed to be lucky for the home, protecting it from fire. They soon developed ten different styles, according to the region or hot-spring they were produced in. Kokeshi production became licensed in its self and a Master and Apprentice system developed. This style, Narugo is characterised by the waist in the cylindrical body and the curved shoulder. The head is meant to twist and if it made a squeaking noise when twisted, then she was painted, because she had a voice. Dolls with no voice where discarded.