Post-World War II Japan experienced a massive revival of its ceramic export industry, producing an extensive array of whimsical novelty items for Western markets. Skilled artisans cast these hollow figural pieces in molds, applied colorful hand-painted glazes, and marked the bases to comply with US import laws.

Smokers kept these quirky tabletop accessories on coffee tables, desks, and in smoking dens during the 1950s and 1960s. Users rested lit cigarettes in the nostrils so smoke would wisp out through the facial features as they burned down. Changing social habits and the decline of indoor smoking eventually phased out these novelty smoking items from everyday household use.

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