Art How to make kokeshi dolls

[thomas]

The NYT took a closer look at the old tradition of making kokeshi, wooden dolls without limbs that originated in Tohoku.

What are kokeshi?

Kokeshi (こけし, 小芥子) are traditional Japanese wooden dolls made as folk crafts. Artisans turn them on a lathe from fruit-tree wood and shape them into simplified figures that usually represent girls. Most kokeshi have a cylindrical body without visible arms or legs and a rounded head set directly on top. The surface is painted in simple designs. Artists often use red and black, adding rings, floral patterns or other basic motifs. The faces are highly stylised.

Each artisan develops a distinct style. The shape of the figure and the painted decoration vary from maker to maker. Artists usually sign their work on the base. Ten regional traditions are generally recognised. Most originated in hot-spring towns in northeastern Japan. These styles include Hijiori from Hijiori (肘折) in Yamagata Prefecture; Kijiyama from Yuzawa in Akita Prefecture; Tsugaru from the Nuruyu (温湯) and Ōwani (大鰐) areas of Aomori Prefecture; Nambu from Hanamaki and Morioka in Iwate Prefecture; Tsuchiyu from Tsuchiyu (土湯) in Fukushima Prefecture ; Tōgatta from Tōgatta (遠刈田) in Miyagi Prefecture; Naruko from Naruko (鳴子) in Miyagi Prefecture; Yajirō from the Yajirō district (弥治郎) of Shiroishi in Miyagi Prefecture; Sakunami from Sakunami (作並) near Sendai and Yamagata; and Zaō from Zaō (蔵王) in Yamagata Prefecture.

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Typically made from mizuki, or dogwood, and painted with spare yet expressive faces, they were once children's toys — objects meant to be held, dressed and played with — and now are considered a regional craft. About 50 traditional kokeshi artisans are currently active in Miyagi Prefecture, according to the Miyagi Traditional Kokeshi Association Federation. A five-minute drive from the station, past snowy fields and large hotels featuring onsen, is the workshop of one of them, Teruyuki Hiraga, an eighth-generation kokeshi artisan. The two-level building houses his workshop and a small boutique, where visitors browse neatly arranged dolls.

Gift article:

In Japan, Making Wooden Kokeshi Dolls

A Japanese artisan demonstrates the skill needed to produce kokeshi.

www.nytimes.com