New Kokeshis 新しいこけし

It just occurred to me that I did not show the new kokeshis from our big Yamagata adventure in early October. We came back with some amazing pieces of all shapes and sizes, many of which were Yamagatas 山形系, as well as a few Hijioris 肘折系, a couple of Tsugarus 津軽系 and Togattas 遠刈田系, some Tsuchiyus 土湯系, two Zaos 蔵王系, and even two Sakunamis 作並系. Come to think of it, we acquired a large variety of kokeshi styles. Therefore, without further ado please meet the newest additions to our collection. 

A Kokeshi on "Itte Q!" "世界の果てまでイッテQ!"のこけし

One of our favorite TV programs in Japan is called Sekai no hate made itte Q! 世界の果てまでイッテQ!, a zany show where actors go around the world doing interesting things. Recently a new person showed up as a temporary replacement on the show, and it turns out that she's such a big traditional kokeshi fan that she brings them with her on location. For instance, during a recent episode of Itte Q! in Thailand she brought a kokeshi along, and based on the screen capture it looks like a Yamagata style. As I've noted in a couple of other blog entries we are seeing more and more traditional kokeshis on TV, which is great!

The lady holding the kokeshi is apparently not the kokeshi fan.

 Yes sir, kokeshis are definitely popular these days.

Kofun Kokeshis 古墳のこけし

On Saturday, 21 November Naoko, the girls and I headed north to Takasaki City 高崎市 in Gunma Prefecture 群馬県. Gunma is known for its Modern Kokeshi 近代こけし tradition, but we actually went to visit an archaeological site and interpretive center -- Kamitsukeno-sato Museum of Archaeology かみつけの里博物館 -- based around two huge kofun 古墳, or burial tombs that were built 1,400 to 1,500 years ago before there was even a country called Japan. What, you might ask, would such a place have to do with kokeshis? As you will see in the pictures below, next to the kofun are a number of haniwa 埴輪, which are cylindrical, hollow, unglazed earthenware objects of various sorts that the people of that time made for unknown purposes, and that are typically found at kofun archaeological sites. There were a number of reproductions of haniwa of all sorts at the main Hachimanzuka Kofun 八幡塚古墳 that we visited, including horses, birds, soldiers, and even little houses. As a historian of Japan all of this was extremely interesting to me. As a kokeshi enthusiast however, something else caught my eye.  

Haniwa in the foreground, and the rebuilt Hachimanzuka Kofun in the background.

As you'll see in the close up photo below, there were also some very kokeshi-like haniwa interspersed among the others. I was familiar with a number of haniwa shapes before this trip, but this was a real surprise. The shape is of course a coincidence, and the haniwa "kokeshis" undoubtedly came about in the same manner that kokeshis did. That is, it's an extremely basic shape of just a head and body that still looks like a human form. If there is a connection, or even a theory of a connection between the kofun haniwa from Gunma and today's kokeshis, I haven't heard about it. In case you're wondering, many haniwa are actually found on the kofun and may have been used to hold the earth in place. As for their meaning, there are various theories but no one can say for sure.  

Haniwa "kokeshis."

Also of possible interest for kokeshi fans and historians is the shape of the Gunma kofuns, as can be seen in the Kamitsukeno-sato Museum of Archaeology's logo: A green kofun, red kofun, and blue kofun. There are actually many different kofun shapes, but the most striking is the so-called "keyhole" (zenpo koen fun 前方後円墳) shape which, in my opinion, also happens to look very much like a traditional kokeshi.

Although not easy to see in the monument below, the kofun had a distinct shape that looks too me like a head and body, and, again, what is generally referred to as a "keyhole" shape by Western scholars.

This was not a kokeshi adventure (though we were actually very close to the fantastic Usaburo 卯三郎 modern kokeshi factory), it is still a highly recommended destination for a day trip. For more information (Japanese only) please visit the museum's web site at this link.

New Tsugaru Kokeshi 新しい津軽系こけし

A friend of Naoko's recently sent her this beautiful little Owani-style 大鰐系 Tsugaru kokeshi by Mr. Hasegawa Masashi 長谷川 優志さん of Hirosaki City in Aomori Prefecture. The shape is quite interesting in that the head is very large in proportion to the body, which I find appealing. I'm a fan of the Owani kokeshi branch of the Tsugaru family, which are not easy to get a hold of, so it's very a welcome addition to our collection.

We met Mr. Hasegawa back in summer 2011 during our first big kokeshi adventure, but I don't recall seeing any like these at that time. According to Naoko, Mr. Hasegawa's kokeshis have become quite popular recently.

Kokeshis on NHK NHKのこけし

In the previous post I mentioned that lately we've been seeing a lot of traditional kokeshis on TV. Here's another shot of our TV screen, again from NHK. In this case it was a one-minute kids' program with various kokeshis in the foreground and a person dancing in the background. Really cool to see the kokeshis, and of course this means more exposure to the general public. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more examples in the future.

Kokeshi Poster!

Two years ago we attended the National Kokeshi Festival 全国こけし祭り in Naruko Onsen and it was, of course, fantastic. That year Cochae, a publisher of stylish kokeshi books and materials, made the festival poster and we managed to get a couple. I like graphic design in general, and I think Cochae did a beautiful job with it to the degree that it could be framed and hung as art. Not all kokeshi event posters are as pleasing to the eye by the way -- this one is definitely unique. Anyway, I had been wanting to frame it for the last two years, and we finally got around to getting it done a couple weeks ago. It wasn't cheap to do, but I think the poster looks great over our sofa in the living room. Here's a picture.

I guess this poster would fall under the category of kokeshi art, something I always enjoy looking at. Overall, I'm quite pleased with this framing project.

On an unrelated topic I wanted to mention to fellow kokeshi enthusiasts outside of Japan that we're seeing more and more traditional kokeshis in the media, including TV. The other day a cartoon was on NHK (not sure what the show's name is) and in a scene when the little boy was talking with his mother there was a kokeshi in the background. I took a couple of screenshots that came out well so you can see what I'm talking about. Again, kokeshi sightings like this have become increasingly common, and Naoko, the girls and I are often yelling "kokeshi!" when we see one show up on the screen. Are traditional kokeshis mainstream these days? Maybe so.

Do  you see the kokeshi?

Hey, it's a kokeshi!

Michinoku Kokeshi Festival: Day 2 みちのくこけし祭: 二日目

On Sunday, October 6th we returned to the Nana Beans building in downtown Yamagata for the second and final day of the Michinoku Kokeshi Festival. Since we had already spent a couple hours there we didn't stay for too long, but it was nice to see our friends and again the new pieces that had been put out. To top it all off, our older daughter Lena won a beautiful kokeshi when she spun the lucky wheel (not sure what it's called -- a Japanese tradition where a colored ball drops out of a hexagonal wheel). Anyway, here are a few pictures to show what we saw the second day.

A sign for the festival at the entrance to the building.

The gift shop on the first floor of Nana Beans that says traditional kokeshis. It's highly recommended on a normal day, but I can't believe they were selling many kokeshis during the festival. 

The shop sign. That's a kokeshi.

A nice display showing the different traditional kokeshi families and where in Tohoku they come from.

On day two was this selection of small kokeshis, which the kokeshi makers have found to be very popular with young female collectors.

Another view of the floor, which had been completely restocked.

A beautiful 木地山系こけし Kijiyama kokeshi.

Emily trying out the lucky wheel. No prizes unfortunately.

Lena with her newly won kokeshi.

We looked around a bit more and then decided to say farewell. After that we spent a few more hours in beautiful Yamagata City, which is well worth a visit any time of the year (it's become one of my favorite cities in Japan). Overall, the 2013 Michinoku Kokeshi Festival was a great event, especially the joint craftsmen-enthusiasts banquet. If you have a chance, by all means go in 2014, 2015 or beyond. You'll be glad you did. 

And with that we completed another fun kokeshi adventure.