Slouching Towards Bethlehem

[Dave Monroe]

The Japanese have a long history with automatons and robots, of
course–the Chahakobi Ningyo, the "tea-serving doll," was created circa
1750, and the haiku master Kobayashi Issa even wrote a haiku to it:

Such coolness by the gate
as the tea-serving doll
brings another cup.

But Japanese robots really began with Tanaka Hisashige, a.k.a.
"Japan's Edison." ...

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