This is an example of Asian culture’s influence on the west. This French toy was made by the master of mechanical tinplate toys, Fernand Martin (1849-1919). His toys represented different types of people carrying out everyday activities. For this figure, he chose a typical Asian subject: the jinrikisha passenger cart.
Operating as taxis do today, these were carts that were pulled by a person. They were carriages that held one or two people, with only one axle, a collapsible hood and two shafts that were pulled by a man.
The jinrikisha was invented in Japan in 1869, and rapidly became one of the most common modes of transportation in Asia, as it was convenient, quick and economic. It was so popular, that three years after its invention, there were approximately 40,000 licensed jinrikishas in Tokyo.
Pedro del Río Zañartu enjoyed many rides in this type of cart. In Japan, where he saw them for the first time, he referred to them as “covered wagons” and highlighted that they were handled by five men (called “beppos”). According to his journals, they were pulled by “men that looked like giant butterflies because of their colorful suits and wide brim hats and white shoes”.