About

Our mission

Connect kokeshi records to the future.

 

I will send you my kokeshi dolls from one of kokeshi’s homelands of Miyagi prefecture in the northern part of the Tohoku area in Japan.

 

Those dolls were toys for children before mass products appeared.

In the modern age, kokeshi dolls have become interior decoration.

 

In Miyagi prefecture, where I was born, almost all families had kokeshi dolls in their house. Some kokeshi were bought by themselves and some were presented as gifts.

 

Before the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, when we had a huge earthquake, we talked with our friends or coworkers like ‘were you and your family fine?’ ‘It was ok, just our kokeshi fell down.’ We measured the earthquake size with kokeshi dolls. Kokeshi dolls were ingrained in our lives.

Some people who lost their homes by tsunami, touched the kokeshi dolls in my shop nostalgically and said ‘I had some kokeshi dolls in my house’.

 

The classic style kokeshi dolls, which we call Dento-traditional kokeshi, are a little bit difficult to call ‘cute’ at first glance. If we would like to understand the cuteness of the simple expression, head and body decoration’s style, we might need some descriptions and assistance from your imagination.

I think it is similar to eating vegetables without any salad dressing. When you find the natural taste, you will see a lot of their charm.

 

A Japanese playwright and poet Shuji Terayama(1935-1983) said that standard language becomes the language with which to speak about politics and economy. The language that we can use to talk about our lives deeply is a form of dialect.

I think kokeshi dolls are a kind of dialect in our society of Tohoku.

Dialects aren’t understood in standard language because of those unique words, sounds and rhythm, but have rich and deep expressions.

 

However, kokeshi dolls, which have been made for over 150 years, are not exactly the same as they were in older times. They are evolving depending on each age. It might be the same in the future.

When I take pictures of kokeshi dolls, that means I’m taking the records of kokeshi dolls in this age.

 

You are the person who is sharing the kokeshi’s history by collecting.

 

I would be happy to introduce you to kokeshi dolls from our region, which include a primitive and modern air.