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| Award winners were along the back wall. |
An important part of the Michinoku Kokeshi Festival is the awards competition for traditional kokeshis. There are actually a large number of awards given, from the Japanese prime minister and Tohoku governors, to various newspaper and TV companies, to regional agencies. I do not know how the award system works, but I can say that all of the award-winning kokeshis were handsome pieces as you'll see below. In order to get these photos posted I'm not going to translate the awards or transliterate the makers' names, so if there is something you are curious about please contact me directly.
Besides kokeshis there was also a small section of award-winning wooden toys. While I didn't take pictures of all of them, there were some really terrific pieces on display. Like kokeshis it's an old handicraft, yet shows a great deal of creativity. I would also say that while these toys are "traditional"in terms of painting styles and woodworking techniques they feel quite modern to me.
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