~    Blue-eyed Doll Betty Jane    ~

In 1942, when the Blue-eyed Dolls were being destroyed all over Japan, one of the teachers, Yoshimasa Wagatsuma, when he was ordered by the principal at that time to get rid of the doll, could not bear the thought of getting rid of her, so he took her home and hid her inside a storeroom.

This doll was found in a storeroom in 1986, but she had hardly any hair, in addition to not opening her eyes and missing five fingers on her left hand, the top of her nose, and her heels.

Mr. Wagatsuma remembered also the name, "Betty Jane was written on the passport carried by the doll." Afterward, Mr. Wagatsuma an appeal in the town newspaper, "we want to restore the original beauty of the Blue-eyed Doll." Betty Jane came alive again to her present-day form because of the work of a doll maker named Michiko Mitsuzuka. She says, "It took a long time to do the repairs. Since the doll had changed colors, I was not able to bring out the same color as the original." Betty Jane, with her newly made clothes and shoes, is displayed today with care in the principal's office.