Back to the Tsugaru Kokeshi Kan 2 津軽こけし館に戻る 2

The Tsugaru Kokeshi Kan has a side room that's filled completely with kokeshi-themed goodies such as crafts and stationary. I'll try to let the photos speak for themselves, but I would like to note that right now during the so-called "third kokeshi boom" 第三こけしブーム kokeshi shapes and faces are inspiring a lot of creativity here in Japan.

Entering the crafts and stationary room. These items are from all over Japan.

These are little notepads.

Kokeshi paper for writing letters.

Yes, this is a plush Hello Kitty kokeshi. Talk about a mix of elements!

Bolts of cloth.

Chopstick holders.

Hairclips.

Hairbands.

Kokeshi soy sauce.

These folders are popular in Japan. The Kokeshi Kan folks said this, though, "was a failure." Still, I bought one.

More folders.

Kokeshi nail files.

Back to the Tsugaru Kokeshi Kan 1 津軽こけし館に戻る 1

After visiting Mr. Shimatsu in Owani Onsen (see previous blog) we drove north to the Tsugaru Kokeshi Kan in Kuroishi to see our friends there. As you'll see in the pictures below, they've been busy stocking the retail area with lots of interesting kokeshis and kokeshi-related items. Although the Kokeshi Kan has a spectacular collection on the second floor, we didn't bother to go up and see them since we already viewed the kokeshis last year.

The highway up to the Kokeshi Kan. We were there on a very pleasant Aomori summer day.

The Kokeshi Kan building. It hasn't changed since last year.

A Kokeshi Kan banner.

Kokeshi lanterns, a Tsugaru specialty.

The main retail area. Most of the items are kokeshi-related,  with some local food items as well.

Another view, this time the wooden toys.

A hina kokeshi display. The Kokeshi Kan had a special exhibition of these unique kokeshis during winter.

Hina kokeshis.

Non-Tsugaru traditional kokeshis.

A set of three beautiful kokeshis by an unknown artist.

Kokeshi books.

Another section of the main area. Those are all Tsugaru kokeshis.

Copies of the excellent Kokeshi Jidai こけし時代 magazine available at the muesum. I'd like to talk about these in an upcoming blog since they're a part of the kokeshi world too. If you can get a hold of these by all means do.

These beauties are Tsugaru-Owani kokeshis by Mr. Hasegawa Kenzo. We met him last year at the Hirosaki Neputa Kan (see blog).

Kokeshis and Darumas by Mr. Shimatsu Seiichi, whom we visited earlier in the day at his workshop in Owani (see previous blog).

All of these are Tsugaru kokeshis.

Some more kokeshis by Mr. Shimatsu.

Believe it or not, kokeshis are measured in traditional Japanese measurements (寸 sun and 尺 shaku) rather than metric.  This measuring stick is therefore based on sun.

I think these are refrigerator magnets.

While at the Kokeshi Kan Tsugaru craftsman Mr. Abo Kanemitsu 阿部金光さん was at the lathe making some of his pieces. One of the cool things about the Kokeshi Kan is that a local craftsman is usually on hand to talk to guests and demonstrate how kokeshis are made. That alone makes it worth the trip.

That's Mr. Abo in the background, with a number of his kokeshis on display.

The Kokeshi Kan's lathe that visiting masters use.

Mr. Abo painting a small army of kokeshis.

See, they're indeed hand-painted. That's one of things that make kokeshis special in my opinion.

Some of Mr. Abo's pieces available in the main area. 530 yen or 740 yen for a handcrafted work like this? Amazing.

As I mentioned in my blog about the Tsugaru Kokeshi Kan last year, this place is an absolue must for kokeshi enthusiasts, so if you get up to Aomori don't even think twice about it. Ah yes, there was one more room of really interesting kokeshi goods for sale in a small wing of the Kokeshi Kan. I'll talk about that in the next blog.

A Tsugaru kokeshi noren, also available at the Kokeshi Kan.

Summer Kokeshi Adventure Day 2 夏こけし冒険二日目

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

On 3 July we made the pilgrimage to Tsugaru 津軽 in western Aomori Prefecture, birthplace of the Tsugaru-type kokeshi 津軽系こけし and home of Tsugaru Kokeshi Museum 津軽こけし館 that I wrote about last year (and will provide an update in an upcoming blog). Tsugaru, beautiful and full of tradition, is a must-visit for all kokeshi enthusiasts.
We visited this area last June, but unfortunately had to skip a small town called Owani Onsen 大鰐温泉 which lies about 20 minutes south of Kuroishi City 黒石市. Like Kuroishi, Owani is also a kokeshi town with its own unique style that is lumped in with Tsugaru kokeshis.

An overlook of Lake Towada.

The drive took us west past through overgrown and twisting mountain roads around the rim of Lake Towada 十和田湖, an enormous crater lake. We had pleasant weather, and soon were heading into Owani with the goal of meeting 82-year old Mr. Shimatsu Seiichi 嶋津誠一さん, the last kokeshi maker in Owani. Typical of these journies, Mr. Shimatsu's house was nestled in a residential area that made locating it something of a chore. However, I've come to accept the hunt for kokeshi makers' workshops as much a part of the adventure as meeting the craftsmen and buying kokeshis! After meandering a bit on unmarked streets we finally found Mr. Shimatsu's workshop, parked on the grounds of a nearby Buddhist temple, and went for a visit.
Mr. Shimatsu was born in 1930, became a woodworker in 1947, and started making kokeshis in 1955. At one point there were ten kokeshi makers in Owani, but but now it's just him. Mr. Shimatsu's workshop is connected to his house and looks really, really old, just the sort of atmosphere one would expect of an old-time kokeshi workshop.

Mr. Shimatsu's workshop. His house is connected on the right.

Naoko went inside first while I parked the car, and when I finally went in through the front door of Mr. Shimatsu's house I was surpirsed to find that we were inside his "shop." That is, he uses his genkan 玄関 (entry area) to lay out his kokeshis for customers. As you can see in the photos below, on the day we visited he had about 35-40 kokeshis of various Owani-style designs available in cardboard boxes. If you know what a standard Tsugaru kokeshi looks like then it's something of a surprise to realize that these, too, are Tsugaru kokeshis. If I could generalize about Owani kokeshis, they tend to have a solid black head of hear with a bowl cut, with simple, even primitive faces, and a straight body. The most striking paint scheme is an almost solid yellow with a couple of stripes. His other Owanis have more regular striping, but with Daruma (Dharma) faces or Neputa/Nebuta ねぷた faces painted on the bottom in the manner of other Tsugaru kokeshis. Finally, Mr. Shimatsu also paints one with iris, which I believe is also an Owani tradition.

Naoko inspecting the kokeshis.

We weren't in Owani very long, but we did get to chat with Mr. and Mrs. Shimatsu for a bit. One thing I can say for certain is that he definitely has a Tsugaru accent!

Note the variety of Owanis that Mr. Shimatsu makes.

More Owani kokeshis.

Looking into Mr. Shimatsu's workshop. I didn't ask but I'll he's been making kokeshis in here for a long, long time.

This manhole cover was right outside Mr. Shimatsu's house.  Yes, that's an alligator holding skies, which isn't so strange if you know two things about Owani. One, it's a major ski area. Two, "Owani" litterally means "Big Alligator." Now you know.

 So, what did we bring home from the workshop of Mr. Shimatsu? We actually didn't bring home a large haul since it was still the beginning of our trip. I kind of wish I had gotten one of his larger yellow pieces, but maybe next time. The pictures below show what we purchased, and they have added nicely to our existing collection. By the way, as is typical with Tsugaru kokeshis they are sold in plastic wrappers and it's recommended to keep them wrapped for a while. As a result there's a bit of reflection from the plastic, but I think you can still see them well enough.

This one's tiny, and is very appealing in its simplicity.

"Shimatsu" on the left, and "Owani" on the right.

A beautiful piece with Neputa/Nebuta art. You see this style of art everywhere in Tohoku, including on kites, but especially in August during the Neputa and Nebuta festivals.

Close up. Beautiful.

Bottom of the Neputa kokeshi.

Here's one with a very bold Daruma face.

Close up of the kokeshi's face. Simple eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth.

To me this is an architypal Owani kokeshi, as I don't think there are any other styles with a full yellow body. 

Close up of the face. Man, this is fantastic!

Here's one with the iris design.