Explore the Japanese Art of Dorodango
Children love to play in dirt and mud. So, it’s not surprising that Japanese school children started rolling mud into balls and created the art form known as hikaru dorodango, which translates into shining mud dumpling.
In 1999, according to Mental Floss, a Japanese developmental psychology professor Fumio Kayo was visiting a Kyoto nursery school and saw children making dorodango balls in the school playground. This art form consisted of making a ball of mud and polishing it until it shines.
How the Art Developed
Kayo saw all the processes that went into making dorodango balls. It involved finding the perfect dirt, molding it into a sphere, and then polishing it. He understood that the process requires patience as well as trial and error and thought that it could have a beneficial impact on early childhood development.
Kayo wrote academic papers and developed a simple method that he introduced to children across the city, and it has morphed into an art form as well as a grounding form of meditation.
Bruce Gardner, an artist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, uses soils from all over the state to make unique dorodango and teaches his methods in online workshops. “It’s almost a necessity for me,” Gardner said in an interview with Mental Floss. “It’s my meditation.”
How to Make Your Own Dorodango Balls
You can create your own dorodango and customize it with colors, glitter, and even scents, according to a blog on the Spirit Japan website. You will need mud, water, a bowl or container, a glass jar, spoon, and a clean dry cloth.
The first step is to gather your dirt, add water to it and mix well into a thick consistency. Next, spoon some into your bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Put your bowl outside in the sun or in a warm place and let sit for at least 24 hours until it is hard and dry.
Now it’s time to shape the mud into a sphere by hand. You may have to add more mud so let the ball dry again. Then use the glass jar to make a rounded shape by rotating the mud ball along the rim. Keep polishing with the jar or a dry cloth until the surface is smooth and continue until the dorodango is shiny.
If you want to add color, just buff the surface of the ball after you have polished it. You can also make a scented dorodango by adding a few drops of essential oil into the mud mixture before shaping it into balls.
This meditative art form can help you connect to the earth, your creative self, and your inner child at the same time. Playing with mud isn’t just for children anymore.
