We interviewed some Kokeshi craftspeople about how they started and learned their craft.
Kokeshi dolls are unique dolls, which have been made with unspoken rules, influenced by surrounding environment and the craftsman’s character.
We would like to share some information that I heard from them.
We hope you will enjoy it.
ユニークで、東北の風土と作り手と取り巻く人々に育まれてきたこけし。こけし工人さん達に伺ったお話をご紹介していきたいと思います。お楽しみいただけましたら幸いです。ー日本文は英語の後に続きますー
KOYAMA, Yoshimi (Togatta style kokeshi craftsman)
She was born in Niigata prefecture, which is the neighboring region of the Tohoku in 1981. (Tohoku is the kokeshi crafting area.)
She was a kokeshi collector while working at a company. She said that she traveled hot spring areas, bought kokeshi dolls and visited kokeshi craftsmen sometimes.
In those times, she found the development training program of kokeshi craftspeople in Togatta of Zao city, and her friend suggested making kokeshi by herself. Thus, she decided to join the programg in 2016, after that she became an apprentice of Katsuji HIRAMA (1941-) in 2018. Since 2019, she started making kokeshi dolls with her signature.
Q: How was your kokeshi collection, before you became a kokeshi craftswoman?
Y (Yoshimi Koyama): I think I bought a Sosaku as my first kokeshi was a Sosaku kokeshi doll, but I collected various types. I found a book and learned about the styles, I was really into the kokeshi world.
Q: Is there a specified period for learning as an apprentice of Togatta style kokeshi? How long was it?
Y: Because I was a member of the development training program, I learned for 2 and a half years. After that, I became an apprentice of Katsuji HIRAMA.
When I got the go ahead from my master, I thought I became a full-fledged kokeshi craftswoman.
Q: Do you remember any words from your master?
Y: Actually, my master is a kind of person of few words, but I remember that ‘if you make good kokeshi dolls, you will be a good craftsperson’.
I interpret that as meaning if I do a deal with a large number of dolls fast, something will be clear.
Q: You said that you would like to make your painting patterns based on the traditional Togatta style, in an online interview movie. What is the Togatta style kokeshi in your mind?
Y: I think the traditional kokeshi has a simplified style and no wasted beauty. Those are painted with less colors but look gorgeous. The patterns follow the body shape and are sophisticated. (Usually, traditional kokeshi dolls are painted with red, green and black, sometimes yellow and purple.)
Traditionally, kokeshi dolls have been made fast in their long history. That is the beauty of traditional kokeshi dolls, I think.
When I improve my skill to make a large amount of dolls quickly, will my master’s words clear?
For example, I use only water color dye, not pigment. If the color soaks into the wood, it feels like the wood’s atmosphere appeared.
A kokeshi craftsperson said that to leave wood grain showing in a good way, that will make a space on the kokeshi doll.
That is also an element of the simplified beauty, I think. So I keep in mind not paint too much.
Q: What does it mean to identify yourself as a ‘Togatta kokeshi craftsperson’ ?
Y: I identify as a Togatta kokeshi craftsperson, but my skill is not where I’d like it to be. Even though I make kokeshi dolls, I have a strange feeling about my products. Ideally, I’d like to make my dolls with more consistent size and features, but I can’t do yet.
So, my current goal is ‘improve my skill to make a large amount of dolls quickly’. Because it’s been 8 years since I started making kokeshi dolls, I can think about kokeshi crafting deeper than before?
While we were talking, she said that she feels strange, something different from her Togatta kokeshi, sometimes.
It might mean that her kokeshi will change slightly or she deepens her creativity. What will she show us as her ‘Togatta kokeshi’ in the future? We are really looking forward to seeing it.
About ‘space on the kokeshi doll’.
In the traditional Japanese arts, like painting, garden, tea ceremony, stage and so on, ‘space’ is cherished. For example, painting, ‘space’ means air and atmosphere in the picture. Artists depicts the air by painted motifs, which means artists painted the motifs and the air surrounding the objects. When the artist succeeds, the audiences feel the depth of the space in the picture. The philosophy of ‘space’ is ingrained in our mind even in the modern age.
Q: 工人になる前のコレクションは、どのくらいでしたか？
小山(以下Y)：一番最初のこけしは創作こけしだったと思いますが、幅広く集めていました。こけしの本を見つけて、いろいろな系統があることを知ってからどんどん深みにはまっていきました。
Q: 遠刈田こけしの修行期間などは決まっているのでしょうか？
Y: 私は育成事業だったので期間が決まっていました。一人前になるのは師匠からのOKが出たら、という感じでした。
Q： こけしを作る上で、師匠から言われた言葉はありますか？
Y： 師匠は特に言葉では言わない人ですが、「いいものをたくさん作ったらいい工人になれる」という言葉を覚えています。数をこなして作れるようになると、見えてくる物があるのかな、と解釈しています。
Q： 以前小山さんがインタビューを受けていた動画を拝見して、「伝統こけしに基づいた絵柄を作っていきたい」とおっしゃっていましたが、小山さんにとっての遠刈田伝統こけしはどんなものでしょうか？
Y： 伝統こけしは、無駄なものがなくて簡略的な美しさがあると思います。色数がなくても華やかなのが伝統こけしで、こけしの形に添って図柄があって、洗練されている、というのが私の中の伝統こけしです。
素早い時間でたくさん作れる伝統こけしは、作られてきた時間の中で要素を抜いて抜いて残った物の中に美しさがあるのだと思います。だから、こけしを作る数をこなして作れるようになってくると、見えてくるものがあるのかな、と思います。
例えば私は、絵付けをする時に顔料は使わず染料だけを使っているのですが、色が木地に染みこむと木の感じが透けて出てくるようになるんです。
ある工人さんは「いい感じに木目を残すことがこけしに余白を残す感じになる」と言っていて。そういった事もこけしの簡素な美しさにつながるな、と思います。なので、自分で作る時もできるだけ柄を描きすぎないようにしています。
Q: 「遠刈田こけし工人」を名乗るということはどんな感じですか？
Y: 遠刈田こけし工人とは言っていますが、私の中ではまだ遠くて、こけしを作っても自分のこけしに違和感を感じることが多いです。こけしも、木地のサイズやこけしの表情を全てピシっと同じように作れることが理想なのですが、毎回変わってしまう。
なので、まずは数をこなせるようになりたいと思っています。こけしを作り始めてから8年になるので少し余裕も出てきて、そんな気持ちが見えてきた頃なのでしょうか（笑）
