Michinoku Kokeshi Festival Begins みちのくこけし祭のスタート

The みちのく祭 Michinoku Matsuri in Yamagata City started on 5 October, and we arrived there later in the afternoon after having attended a kokeshi lecture in Sendai that morning (I'll discuss that event in an upcoming blog). Kokeshi festivals are very visual so I'll let the pictures below do the explaining, but I will say that it was a fantastic event and would recommend that overseas and Japan-based enthusiasts attend it if possible. It really is a great opportunity to pick up lots of new kokeshis, see friends, and meet some craftsmen. You can even make a kokeshi on a lathe. Because the event took place in Yamagata I would say that there was an emphasis on 山形系こけし Yamagata-style kokeshis,  though there were all types available including some 肘折系こけし Hijioris and 南部系こけし Nambus which one rarely sees for sale.

Some Hijiori kokeshis. This was the first time I had ever seen new ones for sale.

The Yamagata-style kokeshi table.

The Yajiro-style kokeshi table.

The Naruko-style kokeshi table.

The Nambu-style kokeshi table. Actually, there were only a couple available right next to the banner.

Naoko got a tiny たこ坊主 Takobozu kokeshi. Hurray!

Lena and Emily making kokeshis, and being trained by a craftsman.

Lena and Emily being photographed while working on their kokeshis.

Here's Lena at the lathe. Her striping ability shows great promise. 

The 津軽系こけしTsugaru-style kokeshi table. 

Yes, you absolutely need a shopping basket at the kokeshi festival. 

NHK News was at the event getting video and interviewing attendees. 

And later in the evening I happened to be watching NHK and they ran the story. Here's an image of the news story that I took off the TV screen in my hotel room. That actually looks better than my photos above!

Overall, it was a great kokeshi event, but things were just getting started and soon after the floor closed a banquet with the kokeshi makers and enthusiasts began. I'll write on that event next. Of course we came back the next day to the floor to see what was new, and to say goodbye to our friends. I'll talk about that as well in an upcoming blog.

New Kokeshi Publications 新しいこけしの出版物

I was at the bookstore a couple weeks ago and found two kokeshi books I had never seen before and immediately bought them for Naoko. The first one, simply entitled こけし Kokeshi, Naoko has enjoyed, and I agree that it's quite good. It definitely emphasizes the cuteness of kokeshis and kokeshi crafts, as well as the highlighting the joy of traveling to Tohoku and meeting craftsmen. In fact, the author actually brought a couple of kokeshis with her on a trip to Europe and photographed them in various famous locations. Sounds familiar, and in truth the book is a bit like this blog!

The second recent book that I purchased is entitled かわいい こけし Kawaii Kokeshi ["Cute Kokeshis"], but Naoko had already seen it and decided it was too basic for her at this point. We didn't even take it out of the shrink wrap before returning it to the bookstore, so I can't say whether or not it's any good. However, some of you out there might enjoy getting it so I've provided a link to Amazon Japan for more info.

Finally, the folks down at Kokeshika in Kamakura have just released the latest edition of こけし時代 Kokeshi Jidai magazine with the subtitle of "Style of Nakuro Colonial." It's on 鳴子系こけし Naruko-style kokeshi makers who do not live in the Naruko Onsen area. The issue also comes with a wooden cut-out kokeshi within the shrink wrap that can actually be sent through the mail as a postcard -- pretty cool! We got the issue while up in Sendai on our recent big kokeshi adventure.

New Kokeshi Shelves 新しいこけし棚

So, how does one display his or her kokeshis? There is no one answer to this question. In an early blog I suggested that kokeshis are suitable for display just about anywhere since they're small, harmless, peaceful looking, and add a nice splash of color wherever they are located. Naoko and I put them all over our apartment, while others display them in dedicated shelves behind glass for maximum protection. Last year I bought a small shelf for kokeshis and I think it has been a good way to highlight one or two kokeshis at a time. Recently I have been thinking more on the idea of having dedicated spaces for kokeshis, and ended up purchasing the two items below that allowed me to put some kokeshis on the wall. While I called them "shelves" in the blog's title, in actuality the square one is really just a small frame that I got at a craft shop for 500 yen. While it really just a picture frame it happens to be the perfect size for a kokeshi or two. I put it up in the kitchen and I think it looks great, and in fact I just bought a second one.

The other new shelf is actually quite fun since it has seven irregular-sized spaces that are just right for smaller kokeshis. I decided to place it in the front entry so when guests come over they will know immediately that they are in a house that appreciates kokeshis. My daughter Lena and I put a variety of kokeshis on display to model the shelf, and I'm sure we'll rotate the others through it from time to time. It cost about $25.

Michinoku Kokeshi Festival: Sakunami Onsen みちのくこけし祭: 作並温泉

We arrived at Sendai around five o'clock, and had a room waiting for us in a chain hotel in the city. However, we decided to drive up to Sakunami Onsen 作並温泉 for dinner, to see some kokeshis, and take a dip in an onsen.

There was a beautiful sunset as we were eating dinner.

For dinner we stopped at a nice little Italian restaurant (L'Albero) where we've dined before, and it was delicious as usual. The restaurant is about half way up the valley toward the onsen area and is a good marker when travelling. Highly recommended! About 20 minutes after eating we entered the Sakunami area, passing the two giant welcoming kokeshis, and then driving down a small hill to the Hiraga Kokeshi Shop 平賀こけし店 and the spectacular Ichinobo Onsen 一の坊温泉. Mr. Hiraga wasn't at the shop since he was participating in the Togatta Lathe Festival 遠刈田轆轤まつり,  but his mother was there so the shop was open. 

We visited Sakunami last December and have been to the Hiraga Kokeshi Shop numerous times, so it was a real surprise to see the renovations the showroom has undergone since our last visit. Everything is now dark wood with directed lighting as you'll see in the photos below. I don't know if Mr. Hiraga did the renovations himself, but the shop now looks absolutely fantastic.

Of course there were plenty of Sakunami kokeshis for sale, and Mr. Hiraga continues to be very innovative with his designs while still retaining his traditional kokeshi roots. Naoko found a couple of small kokeshis that she had to have, and I'll show those in an upcoming blog.

Naoko and the girls enjoying the new shop.

Big kokeshi.

This was also a pretty big kokeshi.

It was nice to be back in Sakunami where it was already quite chilly -- perfect onsen weather. We didn't stay in the shop for too long since we had to get into the onsen, and then back down to Sendai to our hotel. However, I'm glad we made the trip and got to see Mrs. Hiraga. Our latest kokeshi adventure had begun.

Michinoku Kokeshi Festival みちのくこけし祭

Last weekend we drove up to Yamagata City for the 33rd annual Michinoku Kokeshi Festival and had a great adventure. I'll write about various aspects of that trip over the next few blog entries, starting with the drive up north on 4 October.

By the time we entered Fukushima Prefecture the traffic had thinned.

We pulled the girls out of school at around 11 AM and headed north on the Tohoku Expressway which was surprisingly congested leaving the Tokyo area. I'm used to driving on weekends, or very early in the morning, so this was a new experience. The crowds gradually dissipated and pretty soon we were leaving the Kanto Plain and entering Fukushima Prefecture, gateway into Tohoku and Kokeshi-land. Of course parts of Fukushima are an irradiated environment, some places worse than others, and so we could not really spend any time there.

Tohoku.

Nevertheless, we needed a bathroom break right just as we entered the heart of the prefecture, and so I looked for an appropriate place to stop.

The Adatara Rest Area building.

West of the Dai'ichi Power Plant we ended up stopping at the Adatara 安達太良 Rest Area. I asked one of the ladies working there about radiation and she said yes, the area in the vicinity of the rest area was reading a certain amount of milli-sieverts. So sad. However, on a happier note were signs of kokeshis in the gift area. First, I discovered some packs of Onsen Eggs from Tsuchiyu Onsen, home of the Tsuchiyu kokeshi. As you'll see in the photos its mascot is the smiley kokeshi I discussed in the previous blog. That was a nice surprise.

As I wandered around the shop I eventually came across a display case containing a couple of wooden horses, along with two Tsuchiyu kokeshis. Hooray! We were definitely in a kokeshi-making area.

And thus started a new kokeshi adventure that would eventually take Naoko, the girls and me to Sakunami Onsen, the Kamei Museum in Sendai, and the Michinoku Kokeshi Festival in Yamagata. Next blog: Sakunami Onsen!

Smiley Kokeshi ほほえみがえし

In my previous entry I introduced what I thought were two "sad" kokeshis. My dear wife and fellow enthusiast Naoko politely disagreed that those kokeshis are actually sad, but the greater point was that kokeshis can and do convey a surprising range of subtle emotions. As we see in this beautiful Tsuchiyu kokeshi 土湯系こけし by Mr. Abe Kunitoshi 阿部国敏さん of Tsuchiyu Onsen in Fukushima Prefecture, sometimes those emotions can be quite overt, and in fact its name ほほえみがえし translates as something like "returning a smile." A very happy kokeshi indeed!

Head goes up.

Head tilts down.

This smiley kokeshi is unique and definitely blurs the lines between traditional and modern types. Most obvious is the non-traditional cone-shaped body, but it also has a bobble head which, as far as I am aware, one never sees on Tsuchiyu kokeshis. It's only about 9.5 centimeters (3.5 inches) tall, though it does not seem like a small kokeshi. Overall, it's a brilliant design.

Here's a good view showing the Mr. Abe's signature and the bobble-head design.

We tried to get one of these little guys back in summer 2011 during our first large-scale kokeshi adventure when we were fatefully detoured up into Tsuchiyu Onsen. However, they were sold out and even today remain difficult to get due to their popularity.

The case of Tsuchiyu Onsen and the kokeshi tradition there is a sad one two and a half years after the Fukushima disaster. The area is still irradiated, and while the amounts of radiation are fairly low, long-term exposure would be unsafe. As a result tourists are not going to Tsuchiyu. I have heard that the remaining kokeshi makers are doing their best to keep things going, and hopefully they will succeed.