Kokeshi (1)

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Kokeshi, Wooden Dolls こけし,


new ambassadors
for Tohoku Japan -
Kokeshi Dolls　

. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011

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Kokeshi dolls are quite famous and so we find many homepages concerning this item. This is an ongoing story and here is part 1 of it, concerned with a Daruma painted on a wooden doll with girl’s features. Wooden dolls of a similar type with only a Daruma face are called “Kiji Daruma” and will be introduced in their own story.

There are so many HP about kokeshi, more than 5000 in English and 35000 in Japanese, so this is just a small selection.

In part 1 (this one) you find general information about kokeshi and how to make them. Then the types of Miyagi prefecture are introduced.
Part 2 deals with Tsugaru kokeshi, which feature many Daruma kokeshi too.
Part 3 looks at Yamagata, Fukushima and some other famous kokeshi areas.

こけしの話がながい！ＨＰもたくさんあります。日本語では35000以上、英文だけでも5000以上です！
パーツ１では、一般情報、作り方や宮城県のこけし。
パーツ２では、津軽こけし、青森県のだるまこけしなど。
パーツ３では、山形県、福島県などのこけしを紹介します。

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. Kendama Kokeshi Daruma こけしけん玉・福だるま




Kokeshi Adventures, a blog by John
source : kokeshi-adventures.blogspot.com


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Almost everyone familiar with Japanese dolls knows about kokeshi. The cylindrical wooden dolls without limbs are created on lathes and are brightly painted with floral designs and a girl's face. Most people look at kokeshi and wonder how what is basically a cylinder of wood with a ball stuck on could be a play doll. Kokeshi dolls originated in the northern region (Tohoku, Toohoku東北) of Honshu (the main island).

Many people believe that early kokeshi were representations of girl children that were aborted or put to death after childbirth due to the inability to support a poor family of greater size. Even the word, ko-keshi (ko o kesu), can be loosely translated as "extinguished child" or “a child wiped out”.

It may be that kokeshi were kept as reminders of a dead child's plaything. Kokeshi are also given as charms to childless women in an effort to get pregnant. Kokeshi were kept in the family and passed down from generation to generation. Some believe that kokeshi date back three hundred years and were the north's equivalent of the standing hina dolls.

Some kokeshi dolls have their heads made from the same piece of wood as the body, however most heads are separate. They are attached by heat friction with the body rotating on the lathe while the head is fitted on the spindle that holds the head. The wood surrounding the hole at the base on the head eventually cools and contracts to a snug fit. Supposedly the sign of a good kokeshi is a head that squeaks when rotated, but some are just made to do that. Their nickname is “Kina-Kina-Ningyoo”, roughly translates as “Squeeking, Squeeking Doll”.

The sizes of old kokeshi range from 5 to 18 inches, but there are newer ones that are as tall as 30 inches. Kokeshi were once made in about sixty different regions, but now ten basic classifications exist:
Hijiori, Kijiyama, Tsuchiyu, Togatta, Naruko, Yajiro, Sakunami, Nambu, Tsugaru and Zao Takayu.

Each area has its own manufacturing technique, decoration, and head and body shape. The Meiji period saw increased affluence of the middle class which increased travel and sight seeing into the Tohoku area for its other abundant resource, hot springs. Some hot spring areas sell souvenir kokeshi, each with their own characteristics.


Keep reading about Kokeshi and many other Japanese dolls on this very informative homepage.
http://www.yoshinoantiques.com/ningyo.html


Tsugaru Kokeshi by Mori Hidetaro 盛秀太郎

故盛秀太郎により作られ、大正時代に生まれた。小さめの頭におかっぱが多い、胴模様は、津軽藩の家紋であるボタンやダルマ絵に、アイヌ模様を描彩したものが多い。
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/takashi/ehara/n5500/5502.html (日本語)


Judy Shoaf from JADE also writes about Japanese dolls, Kokeshi and Daruma.
See her LINKS for more.
http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/jshoaf/Jdolls/tradition.htm#kokeshi


Hisamaro has a page about Kokeshi in Japanese
Tsugaru Daruma Kokeshi

各系統の大体の特徴を列挙してみましたので、参考にしてください。
http://park1.wakwak.com/~hisamaro/8-kokeshi.htm


On this HP you find more about the local kokeshi of northern Japan. Some will be discussed in part 2 in more detail.
Tsugaru .. .. Nanbu .. .. Kijiyama .. .. Narugo .. .. Togatta .. .. Yajiro .. .. Hijiori .. .. Yamagata .. .. Zao .. .. Tsuchiyu
10種類のこけしです。ゆっくり見てください。
http://hb2.seikyou.ne.jp/home/g-136/kokesimain.htm

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Traditional Crafts of Japan 日本の伝統工芸
This page is about Traditional Crafts of Japan, with a lot of useful stories and a search button.
http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/dolls.html
http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/
http://www.kougei.or.jp/ (日本語)

On the following HP you get to the different dolls of Naruko, Yajiro, Togatta and Sakunami. Click the buttons MAIN TEXT to get to the details of the dolls and their makers. This little tour is well worth your while.
http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/1301/d1301-5.html

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Making Kokeshi こけし造り
The woodcutters who worked the remote mountains didn't have money for luxuries like fine dolls, but whenever there was an extra scrap of wood, they would turn it on a lathe and create a doll complete with eyes, nose, and mouth, much to the delight of their children. The best wood for the kokeshi is the dogwood, maple and poplar. The trees are 15 to 20 years old and are cut in late September to mid October. The trees are dried for 15 days to a month and then the branches are removed to ease transportation. When moved, the bark is removed to prevent black stains in the wood. The wood is then stored for approximately half a year.

Once the drying process is complete, the wood is cut into sections, the lengths of the kokeshi. A circular saw is used to remove the facets so that each piece can be worked on the lathe. The head and torso are made separately, but the steps are the same. The head (or torso) go through a rough lathe shaping, then a fine shaping. Lathe lines are incorporated at this point, then the facial features and decorative patterns are painted, a wax polish applied, and the head and torso are fitted together.

There are about thirty-nine steps in the manufacturing process to turn a tree into a kokeshi. Of the approximately 220 kokeshi makers very few are young men and the craftsmen worry about the lack of successors. In an effort to stir up interest in the younger generation, an “All Japan Kokeshi Contest” is held every year.
http://www.sbgmath.com/gr4/403p117/403p117_inx2.html

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Kokeshi dolls from Miyagi prefecture 宮城県のこけし
In Miyagi there are 5 varieties of kokeshi, made in Naruko, Togatta, Yajiro, Sakunami and Hijiori. The production is the highest in Japan.
宮城県に五種類のこけしがありますが、それは鳴子、遠苅田（とうがった）、弥次郎、作並と肘折です。
http://www.pref.miyagi.jp/kohou/yokogao_e/culture/craft.htm
http://homepage2.nifty.com/tahara~d-c/kokeshi.html
http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/index2_e.html


The Kokeshi Dolls - originated with a warm heart, abundant climate, and dexterous skill in Michinoku.With a gentle beam,they are inviting us to the five Kokeshi towns.
Naruko Togatta Yajiro Sakunami Hijiori


Let us look at them in detail.


Kokeshi from Naruko Hot Spring なるこ温泉のこけし
The pronunciation can also be “Narugo”.
The central street of Naruko Hot Spring resort is called "Kokeshi Street". Along this narrow hot spring street, inns and souvenir shops stand in a row. In the stores, displayed in a crowded fashion are, of course, kokeshi dolls. Some stores are operated directly by the wood artisans, and you can actually see them skillfully working.
Japan Kokeshi Museum
Shitomae 74-2, Naruko-cho, Tamatsukuri-gun, Miyagi, Japan
Tel: +81-229-83-3600
http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/furusato/na_fudo_e.html


http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/1301/d1301-5-1.html



Kokeshi from Togatta (Toogatta) 　 遠苅田のこけし（とうがった）
Togatta is maybe the most ancient birthplace of Kokeshi.
The Nihon Kokeshi-Kan (Japanese Kokeshi Museum) in Naruko, the Kokeshi-no-Sato (Home of Kokeshi) and the Miyagi Zao Kokeshi-Kan (Miyagi Zao Kokeshi Museum) in Togatta displays the dolls. Kokeshi artisans perform workshops at Kokeshi-no-Sato, allowing you to watch the kokeshi making process.

http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/furusato/to_fudo_e.html
http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/1301/f1301.html



Kokeshi from Yajiro 弥次郎こけし
Yajiro Kokeshi are produced mainly in the village of Yajiro located about 1 km west of the Kamasaki Hot Spring of Shiroishi Town. They have their origin with Togatta Kokeshi. Today in Yajiro, the people live as half farmer and half artisan, farming the land from early spring to autumn and striving to produce Kokeshi from late autumn to spring when the icy chill moves off the river.
http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/furusato/ya_fudo_e.html


"Creative Kokeshi" is a handicraft that exercises the free and unrestrained imagination of an individual artist. After World War II these dolls are crafted using the original techniques of engraving and baking, and are appreciated as a unique work of art.
Look at these Modern Kokeshi:
http://www.sec.state.la.us/archives/dolls/DOLL-17.HTM


Kokeshi from Sakunami 作並のこけし
Sakunami Kokeshi have a relatively short history, and is considered that they were first produced in the early Meiji era. They are quite slender, so that children can hold them easily.

作並こけしは、子供が握って遊べるようにと、きわめて細い胴を持つのが特徴です。最近では、初期の細い胴に代わり、太いものになっています。頭部はさし込み式で、胴は肩から下部にかけて細くなり、円錐に近い形が一般的です。肩と裾の部分に描かれたロクロ線をはさんで、菊を図案化した独特の模様が描かれます。
http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/furusato/sa_toku.html　(日本語)
http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/furusato/sa_fudo_e.html

http://hb2.seikyou.ne.jp/home/g-136/yamagatamain.htm



Kokeshi from Hijiori 肘折（ひじおり）こけし
The Hijiori design was developed in the Hijiori Hot Spring resort in Okura Village. The main colors for decoration are yellow, red and green and the eyes are carefully modelled.
The Togatta design was combined with the Naruko design to produce the distinctive Hijiori Kokeshi. This design presently has the least number of the artisans. However, Shoichi, a third generation artisan, is creating ambitious pieces in Sendai. His inspiration comes from the master craftsman, Shusuke Sato, who was from Togatta and said to be the originator of Hijiori Kokeshi, and the second generation Minosuke.
http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/furusato/hi_fudo_e.html

http://www.chuokai-miyagi.or.jp/~kokeshi/furusato/hi_toku.html


If you speak Japanese, you can try your hand at making a kokeshi yourself, choosing one of the two masters who offer their instructions.
こけし造り体験も出来る。

http://www.vill.ohkura.yamagata.jp/kankou/03_taiken.html

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Read a lovely essay about
A Day in Kokeshi Land by Laurel M. Sheppard of JADE.
“On my trip to Japan in March 2000, this ningyo collector was fortunate to see many fine examples of Japanese dolls, especially kokeshi.”
日本の人形が大好きなシェパードさんのお話はこちらです。
http://www.jadejapandolls.com/kokeshi.html


And here is a collection of many essays in Japanese about kokeshi.
日本語のお話もあります。
http://homepage3.nifty.com/bokujin/


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Next read part 2 and 3 of the Kokeshi story.

Kokeshi (2) こけし ..... Kokeshi (3) こけし




. Sai no Kawara 賽の河原　Limbo for dead children 　


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立ち並ぶこけしの如き葱坊主
tachinarabu kokeshi no gotoki negi boozu

standing in a row
like kokeshi dolls -
welsh onion heads

source : santoukahuu

. WKD : Welsh Onion Head (negi boozu) 　


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kokeshi doll...
she monologues on the girl
she never bore

Chen-ou Liu
Canada


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