Karakuri

Karakuri Puppets (Japanese: からくり人形 - karakuri ningyō)

Traditional Japanese mechanized puppets or automata, made from the 17th century to the 19th century. The dolls' gestures provided a form of entertainment. The word karakui has also come to mean "mechanisms" or "trick" in Japanese. It is used to describe any device that evokes a sense of awe through concealment of its inner workings.

As noted in the excellent Wikipedia entry, Karakuri were used as novelties, demonstrations of a craftsman’s skill and engineering acumen, status symbols, and as entertainments — and for stage productions. Karakuri are classified into three distinct categories, defined by size and intent/ purpose.

Butai karakuri: life-sized dolls for public performances. 

Zashiki karakuri (tatami room karakuri): small puppets used in homes to dance or beat drums — or more sophisticated (and expensive) designs that could serve tea or sake. 

Dashi karakuri (festival car karakuri): were large mechanical dolls used in religious festivals, performing traditional myths and legends. [1]

From the Wikipedia page linked above:

The most common example today of a zashiki karakuri mechanism is a tea-serving robot, which starts moving forward when a cup of tea is placed on the plate in its hands. This karakuri [...] was used [...] when a host wanted to treat a guest in a recreational way. It moves in a straight line for a set distance, moving its feet as if walking, and then bows its head. The doll stops when the cup is removed. When it is replaced, the robot raises its head, turns around and returns to where it came from. It is typically powered by a wound spring made of whalebone, and the actions are controlled by a set of cams and levers.

Some karakuri function as "merely puppets," but those that contain sophisticated mechanisms can act as simulacra, if not really "robots." See in this Wiki entries for

"Technofetishism and the Uncanny Desires of A.S.F.R." 
Dreaming Metal, 
Replacing Humans: Robots Among Us — and any more recent entries listed in a search on the wiki for "Karakuri".

Chad Dresbach, with some editing by RDE, finishing, 24/25Mar25