Mystery kokeshi

Kokeshi doll and action figure.

We acquired this traditional kokeshi on a trip to Kamakura on January 29th (more on that trip in a future post). It was wrapped in plain brown paper and was a sight-unseen surprise purchase for 1,000 yen. Not too shabby. Since most people know the size of a Star Wars action figure, I've put Darth Vadar next to it for reference. As can be seen the kokeshi is pretty big and is also surprisingly heavy, so it must be a hardwood, perhaps maple or cherry? On a side note one hears that kokeshis may have started as girls' dolls, but a little girl wouldn't be able to carry this one comfortably for more than a few minutes. It would, however, probably make a good bludgeon if necessary.
The lathing is top notch, and while the painting is hand done and somewhat primitive (in a folk-art style) it is nonetheless charming, making this kokeshi a welcome addition to our collection. It is unvarnished, and when trying to straighten the head a bit of red paint came off on my hand. As for features, it has fully opened alert eyes rather than the usual crescent shape. This eye style is called niju mabuta (二重まぶた), translated as "an eyelid with a fold." The nose is also fully drawn, which in the world of kokeshis is called a maruhana or marubana (丸鼻), meaning "round nose." The mouth is almost non-existent. Overall, it's an interesting face that seems to be expressing...? Hard to say. Anyway, based on our kokeshi reference book the flowers are called hishigiku (菱菊), apparently a kind of chrysanthemum. The significance of the ringed pattern around the neck and torso area is unknown. The artist's family name is Abe, his first name is (possibly) Tsunekichi, and he was 81 years old when he finished it. We know this information because Mr. Abe signed the kokeshi on the back, included his age. 81 years old! Most kokeshi makers sign the bottom, so the back signature seems quite unique.

The kokeshi maker's signature and age.

That's what we know. What we do not know is the kokeshi family it belongs to. Our best guest at this point is that it is a Zaotakayu type (蔵王高湯系), based on the eyes and nose, and possibly the neck pattern. Another clue is the artist's family name: Abe (阿部), which is a reknowned Zaotakayu kokeshi-making family. It's true that Abe is a common name in Japan, but the combination of the facial features and name suggest that's a good guess. To be sure, though, we'll have to have it verified.

Tokyo kokeshi dolls? Yes!

Mr. Kuninobu Okura in his Hachioji workshop.

The kokeshi tradition is firmly rooted in the six prefectures of northeastern Japan, called Tohoku (東北) in Japanese. There is also a strong, though more recent, kokeshi-making tradition in Gunma prefecture and a few other places. However, apart from a vague mention that Naoko found on line, we have never seen a printed reference, in Japanese or English, talking about a Tokyo kokeshi tradition. Intrigued by the on-line mention of "Tokyo kokeshis," on February 7th Naoko, daughter Emily and I decided to seek out a kokeshi maker located in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji (八王子). 

Turning a Tokyo kokeshi.

The Tokyo Kokeshi workshop lies about 14km south of our home, and after some complicated twists and turns typical of the western Tokyo road system, we finally found it tucked away on a residential Hachioji street. As can be seen in the photos, Mr. Kuninobu Okura has a small workshop consisting of a lathe and pieces of wood. Logically, he heats his shop with an old-fashioned wood burning stove that was nearly red hot! Mr. Okura welcomed us in, explained his kokeshi style, and then showed and how he makes his dolls by quickly creating one on his lathe in just a couple of minutes. The Tokyo kokeshis that Mr. Okura makes are definitely unique, and are turned from a single piece of wood rather than the typical head and body construction of traditional kokeshis. The head is either round like a ball, or else tiny with a huge bulb of hair (?) on top. The neck is very thin, while the body is vase-shaped and balances out the head. The most interesting part is probably the signature "necklace" that Mr. Okura makes while trimming down the neck and upper torso. As he explains in his English-language pamphlet, "The necklace or ring called "wa" (輪) in Japanese, is to symbolize happiness "shiawase" (幸せ), using the same sound." Pretty cool.

Tokyo Kokeshi shop in Hachioji.

Tokyo Kokeshi interior.

Tokyo Kokeshi signboard.

Mr. Okura does not sell his kokeshis out of his workshop. Rather, he and his wife have a small shop called -- what else? -- "Tokyo kokeshi" (東京こけし) a few blocks away selling their own Tokyo kokeshis, traditional wooden Japanese toys from northeastern Japan, a variety of Japanese traditional wooden tops (こま), and some imported items from Asia. Mrs. Okura paints the kokeshis with various flower patterns, and they are really quite simple and pleasing. Notably, the style is raw wood without varnish. We bought a round-headed one painted with a wisteria for 1,050 yen, as well as tops for the kids, and a delightful traditional Daruma wooden toy for Naoko. Another successful Kokeshi Adventure!

Tokyo kokeshis. Note the tops in the background. Mr. Okura make those too.

Tokyo kokeshis -- variety. We bought the fourth one from the left.

Modern Kokeshi Concours in Maebashi City

Under gray skies on Saturday, February 12th the kids, Naoko and I drove north on the Kan'etsu Highway from western Tokyo to Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture for the 51st All Gunma Modern Kokeshi Concours (第51回全群馬近代こけしコンクール) held on the first floor of the magnificent Gunma Prefectural building. It was well worth the effort. 

Concours sign.

The Gunma kokeshi tradition is completely of the modern (近代 kindai) or creative (創作 sosaku) type, and sure enough there was not a single traditional (伝統 dento) kokeshi anywhere to be seen at the event. Complicating things further, the concours (French for "contest") had three kokeshi categories: Sosaku, Shingata (新型 new type), and Kiji Omocha (生地玩具 wooden toys). By the way, my wife Naoko tells me that purist Japanese kokeshi collectors are generally not interested in modern kokeshi dolls, which is their loss. However, I will say that at a certain point it becomes hard to say if they are really kokeshi dolls. In fact many examples at the creative kokeshis were akin to sculpture, as the artists gently brought out faces and shapes one would swear had been living in the piece of wood all along. This is simply not the same process as turning out a traditional kokeshi on a lathe.

Tokyo Shinbun Award Creative winner: "Soaring"
by Yasunobu Oki. 

As it turns out the All Gunma Modern Kokeshi Concours is a really big deal. The Prime Minister of Japan awarded the top prize, while the Japanese Minister of Economics and Manufacturing gave out two prizes, as did the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Other awarders were the Gunma governor, the head of the Gunma prefectural assembly, the mayors of Maebashi city and Shibukawa city, one local newspaper and six national papers, Gunma Broadcasting, and other Gunma organizations. Total awards were handed out: 19 in the Sosaku category, 15 in the Shingata category, and three in the Kiji Omocha category. The competition pieces were not for sale, though some of the artisans brought piece to sell, all at very good prices.

Without a doubt Gunma Prefecture, centering on Shibukawa, Maebashi and the surrounding area, is a serious kokeshi-producing area. While many Gunma kokeshis are produced in factories (often for sale to Japanese tourists and foreigners traveling through Narita International Airport), their creators are also fully capable of producing the kinds of exquisite works seen here that clearly expand the definition of what a kokeshi might be.

New Type kokeshi dolls.

Creative kokeshis.

Creative kokeshi Forestry Agency Award winner: "Dance of Wind" by Kiyoshi Saito. 

A row of Creative kokeshi dolls.

Gunma Assembly Chairman Creative award winner: "Warm Spring" by Chiyomatsu Kano

Event poster.

 

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries New Type kokeshi award winner: "Sound of Snow" by Tatsuo Kato. 

Shibukawa City Mayor New Type award winner: "Cherry Blossom Child" by Yoshie Okamoto. 

Small-Medium Enterprise Agency Director Creative kokeshi award winner: "Kaoru" by Fumio Tomidokoro.

Observing kokeshi dolls.

  

Kokeshis for sale.

More kokeshis for sale.

Why a blog about kokeshi dolls?

A traditional kokeshi doll.

What is a kokeshi （こけし）doll? One thing that can be said with certainty about them is that they are made of wood. Another fact is that they are a distinctly Japanese handicraft. Finally, kokeshi dolls represent people, usually girls or young women. Otherwise the variety of kokeshi designs, shapes, and sizes, whether traditional or the so-called creative or modern type, defy simple definition. To see this one need only go to eBay (United States) and type in "kokeshi dolls." A search conducted on 11 February 2011 turned up 48 pages of kokeshis available for bid with 50 items per page, or about 2,400 total kokeshis. Of those, the majority were unique. Yet to the untrained eye many of the dolls undoubtedly looked similar, especially the traditional style that tend to be just a head with stylized face and hair, and a cylindrical body without arms or legs painted with a flowered or striped pattern. We might say that kokeshis do not represent a person as much as the essence of a person. Are they even dolls?
That said, why a blog about these delightful wooden works of art? My wife Naoko and I, who reside in the Tokyo area, have recently begun to develop a deep interest in kokeshis to the point that we often arrange weekend family trips around kokeshi hunts. Out of these adventures we have already met artisans and seen them at work on their lathes, visited their shops and ateliers （工房）, and at the same time have begun learning about a whole sub-section of Japanese artisan culture of which we had only been vaguely aware. Hopefully this blog will become a record of our kokeshi adventures, and at the same make available in English information about lesser known aspects of this rich and wonderful bit of Japanese artistic heritage.