When we went up to Yamagata last November for the kokeshi festival I was surprised to find a number of brochures and advertisements with kokeshi-related information or themes in them. To me this shows that the recent kokeshi boom is still going strong!
The first sample is a one-page biographic newsletter about Yamagata kokeshi 山形系こけし craftsman Ms. Umeki Naomi 梅木直美さん. This was issue 31, and I would guess that each issue covers a person of note in the Yamagata area.
The next example is a free newspaper advertising a new feature movie that took place in Yamagata. One of the characters was a little girl who, as you can see in the photo, is holding a kokeshi. I'm not sure if the kokeshi is part of the film, but it's possible.
The next sample is the cover of a Fukushima Prefecture vistors' guide book, which we found at a rest area in Fukushima. You'll notice down at the bottom is a beautiful Tsuchiyu kokeshi 土湯系こけし, of course native to Fukushima.
The next two images are of advertising postcards that we discovered in Miyagi prefecture, both of which show Sakunami kokeshis 作並系こけし by Mr. Hiraga Teruyuki 平賀輝幸さん.
The final images are from the free monthly Yamagata-specific magazine Gatta! This issue's main article was entitled "Yamagata Kokeshi Guide" (やまがたこけしずかん) and was entirely about Yamagata kokeshis and craftsmen. Fantastic!
I'm sure there are many more materials like these out there, so I'll keep my eyes peeled and report on what I find in future blog entries.
The first sample is a one-page biographic newsletter about Yamagata kokeshi 山形系こけし craftsman Ms. Umeki Naomi 梅木直美さん. This was issue 31, and I would guess that each issue covers a person of note in the Yamagata area.
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