New Products May. 11, 2008 - 06:25AM JST ( 1 )

First produced in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu in the Edo Period (1603-1868), Kokeshi dolls have endured as a beloved icon of Japanese culture. So it is on hallowed ground that design company Gendaibijutsu Nitouhei tread when it fashioned a set of dumbbells featuring the trademark Kokeshi colors and facial drawings. It feels almost wrong to grip the pieces and do a few curls — like we’re committing a serious cultural faux pas. But taboo or not, we love the concept. (Beau Miller/Metropolis)