The history of the traditional Kokeshi originated in the early 1800s, in the northern region of Japan known as Tohoku, an area comprised of six prefectures (Ken): Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, and Fukushima. Miyagi is thought to be the actual birthplace of the Kokeshi doll, which is now considered the archetypical doll form of Japan. They were created to satisfy the desire of children to have something with which they could play as well as incorporating historical elements that parents wanted to pass on to their children. For a doll reduced to its simplest form, there are a wonderful range of variations on the spherical/cylindrical theme produced by the artists, with very distinctive facial features, head and body shapes, and painted patterns. These variations reflect the styles of the six different prefectures and the ten/eleven families historically associated with the making of these traditional Kokeshi wooden dolls.
The advent of the ‘Sosaku, (Creative), type of Kokeshi in the first half of the 20th/c, brought a global awareness to, and a renewed appreciation of, the Kokeshi doll. The art of Sosaku, (Creative), and modern Kokeshi doll-making began in the early 1940s, grew and flourished in the 1950s through the 60s, and continued well into the 70s. This 30-plus-year period produced the greatest, most enduring, and the most popular artists of the genre, with many of them gaining international recognition. The mid-50s saw the movement go beyond the few, early craftspersons of the previous decade and explode into a guild of talented wooden doll makers throughout the main island of Japan. Utilizing beautifully-grained woods available to the Kiji-shi, (wood workers), all over Japan’s northern regions, artists from backgrounds as varied as fine arts, lacquerware, painting, photography, textile design, and even chemistry and engineering, began infusing their own personalities into their dolls, allowing for immediate acceptance by a diverse national and international audience.
Kokeshi Birthplace
Tohoku and Gunma
Kokeshi are 'created' by artists and craftspeople, and have features and styles unique to their own particular artist, craftsperson, local culture and region. The majority of Traditional Kokeshi come from the Tohoku region, while Creative, (Sosaku), Kokeshi were, and are, primarily made in Gunma prefecture.
Mingei Arts' collection of Traditional and Creative antique Kokeshi dolls were acquired beginning in 1998 after numerous visits to the wood carvers’ studios, associated retail shops, and onsens. As long time researchers and collectors of Japanese folk art we have found that Kokeshi and Kokeshi inspired toys continue to imbue a spiritual significance from their original beginnings.
Sosaku Kokeshi: A New Look at an Old Tradition
The art of Sosaku, (Creative), and modern Kokeshi doll making began in the early 1940s, grew and flourished in the 1950s-60s, and well into the 70s. Kokeshi represent a measure of the spirit-infused status of the wood, and they are believed to retain the material’s original sacred and natural qualities. ‘Kokeshi’ made in other countries, (China, Korea, etc.), are not Kokeshi, and do not represent the spirit from which they were conceived.
After Japan gave access to Western ideas, many Creative Kokeshi artists wanted to honor the carving tradition, but did not want to follow traditional family designs. The Japanese use the term ‘Mottainai’, which was originally a Buddhist word that referred to the “essence of things.” Applied to everything in the physical universe, the word suggests that objects do not exist in isolation but are intrinsically linked to one another. ‘Mottainai’ is also an expression of sadness for the disrespect that is shown when any living or non-living entity is wasted. Thus we find the Sosaku artists focusing on a new visual approach to the creation of the Kokeshi doll, reinforcing of the important part that forests play in the daily life of the people.