Hawaii Hula Girl Bobblehead, 1950s

This vintage Hawaii hula girl bobblehead is a very kitschy travel gift from the 1950s. Made in Japan, she's about 6" high, and bobbles with a strong spring inside. She's in very good condition for a tourist kitschy product from almost seventy years old.

Our hula girl is made from a ceramic composite product. She's wearing a straw, wrapped skirt called the pa'u. (Traditionally, the women hula dancers were topless.) Men also performed hula, and wore a loincloth.

In 1896, when the Americans took over from the Hawaiian king, legislation banned hula in Hawaiian schools. By the 1950s, Hawaiian culture was a shadow of its former self, when Hawaiians began to revitalize. A Japanese cult movie called Hula Girls explains the popularity of hula there, and the fact this example was made in Japan.