Usaburo Kokeshi: A New Branch for Wooden Dolls by Linka Wade

Usaburo Kokeshi: A New Branch for Wooden Dolls Linka Wade (Gunma)

Have you ever walked into a Japanese souvenir shop and seen rows of beautifully carved and painted wooden dolls? These are kokeshi, one of Northern Japan’s most well known traditional art forms. You’ve seen them everywhere from antique markets to keychains. The wooden dolls come in all different styles and shapes, frequently depending on the region the artisan is from. Eleven styles in total are found throughout the Tohoku area, the home of kokeshi. Kokeshi makers in the region have created their own signature styles for painting faces or designs, and even shaping the body of the doll.

Its history goes back to the Edo Period. At Togatta onsen in Miyagi prefecture, wood craftsmen called kijishi branched out from their traditional wares to carve dolls. The dolls were decorated with scenes from around the area and were sold as souvenirs to the onsen visitors. The fad quickly spread to other onsen in the region. Because kokeshi is written only in hiragana, there’s no distinct meaning assigned to the word, but they were still viewed as good luck charms. Visitors came to onsens to improve their health and relax. When they left, their souvenir dolls came to signify good luck and well-being.

Kokeshi are characterised by wooden bodies with round heads, usually painted with a black, red, and yellow motif. They feature more rustic styles being carved simply from one piece of wood. There really are a lot of styles that make it hard to define what a kokeshi is. However, if they’re shaped like cute girls with smooth, dark wood for hair—chances are pretty high that those kokeshi were

made at the Usaburo Kokeshi studio in Shinto Village, Gunma Prefecture. Usaburo Kokeshi has been a major part of bringing the art of kokeshi into the modern age, preserving and developing this living tradition.

Making the Leap to Modernity

Kokeshi have always been hand-crafted using traditional methods and tools. However, Usaburo Okamoto, the founder of Usaburo Kokeshi who was in the business of making dolls from 1950 until his passing in 2009, came to the realization that it didn’t have to be that way. There was no kokeshi police stopping him from designing a whole manufacturing system. So he did. Usaburo is responsible for the creation of a new style of kokeshi; sosaku kokeshi. Although sosaku (創作) is translated as “creative,” the colloquial translation for sosaku kokeshi is “modern” kokeshi. This style is known for feminine facial features and a distinctive dark, bobbed hairstyle. Traditional dolls are hand-carved and painted. Usaburo updated the craft by designing machines that artisans could use to mass-produce doll bodies, but kept the painting and some carving by hand. He also threw in some poker-drawing for fun, a technique where artists use hot wires to etch designs into the dolls. Through a combination of all these unique styles and techniques, the Usaburo Kokeshi studio was born. The kokeshi makers, or koujin at Usaburo Kokeshi still preserve tradition by learning from senior artists; in fact, many of the artists at the workshop are direct descendents of Usaburo, or have been working for Usaburo Kokeshi their entire lives. However, by using the (relatively) new machines, they are also able to produce about 15,000 kokeshi a month, which is a lot more than they could do by hand. This enables Usaburo

kokeshi to be sold not only all over Japan, but all over the world. The other modern twist at the workshop is in the design of the kokeshi. Usually, kokeshi display traditional scenes and have roughly the same body shape. Usaburo artisans threw all that out the window and decided to not only make their signature kokeshi, but also make pop culture figures. Now, you can buy a kokeshi version of TV and anime characters, mascots, and more. Because why not? I myself am the proud owner of a Gunma-chan Usaburo kokeshi, but I’ve also definitely had my eye on a Yoda one. Check out all the neato designs at the studio’s online store.

At the Workshop

One of the fantastic things about visiting the Usaburo Kokeshi studio is that you can tour the factory, completely free. If you’re lucky, the artisans will be at work when you go in for a look. The machines and work stations are behind plexiglass screens, and helpfully have English signs explaining the process that happens at each station. Unfortunately, the English on these signs is . . . questionable at best. You can watch as the individual parts of the dolls are shaped, lathed, and polished. Although the machines are doing the hard work of high-speed carving, the artisan has hands on the pieces at all times. You can tell the amount of skill and precision that goes into making each part of the doll. Usaburo kokeshi are technically mass-produced, but each one is still a handcrafted work of art.

When you leave the factory and head into the shop, you can also see the decorating artists at work. They use hot bits of wire to delicately etch designs into the assembled dolls, and traditional tools for painting and carving. None of these decorations are sketched on beforehand; everything is totally freehanded. Personally, I cannot freehand draw a potato. The mind boggles at what these artists are able to create, almost magically. If you really want a deeper appreciation for their craft, you can sign up for a workshop to paint your own kokeshi. Nothing will make you realize that magic of what they do more than having a brush in your own hand.

The shop itself is a delight to wander through. There are so many dolls to look at, in all varieties. If you get bored of looking at the dolls on sale, you can pop upstairs to a free museum of kokeshi. All the signs are in Japanese, but you can get a pretty in-depth history lesson just from walking through all the displays of kokeshi. It’s incredible to see how different designs and styles developed, and just how versatile this art is.

Almost all the information in this article, and much more, can be found at Usaburo Kokeshi’s website. If you are at all like me (a big history nerd), and interested in the history of kokeshi at Usaburo and in Gunma, I’d highly recommend reading through the information there.

Linka is the Events section editor for CONNECT, and a second-year ALT in Gunma. One of her hobbies is collecting kokeshi, which is probably why she was asked to write this article. She also enjoys traveling, dragging her husband to events around Japan, contemplating her life in onsen, and spoiling her guinea pigs. You can find her on Instagram at @linkaslens, or on her blog, Linka Learns Things