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A doll's house
They have an affinity for simplicity, a hallmark of Japanese culture as exemplified by Haiku poetry and unpainted wooden architecture in the pattern of Shinto and Buddhist religious structures.
Kokeshi dolls are Japan's traditional toys.
An exhibition of these miniature beauties was held in the State recently."Kokeshi are made throughout the country today, but only in the Tohoku region, the northern end of the Honshu Island in Japan, are they made according to traditional local techniques, passed down through generations of craftsmen. Traditional Kokeshi are believed to date back to the middle of the Edo period," says Shibata Chokichiro, director of the Japanese Traditional Kokeshi Association. The traditional Kokeshi owe its advent to the Tohoko region's `Kijiya' or woodworkers, who made household articles such as bowls and trays from wood using lathe, when they gave a creative touch to their skills to carve out wooden dolls for the children of visitors to local hot-spring resorts.
There are 11 types of these traditional dolls: Tsuchiyu, Togatta, Yajiro, Naruko, Sakunami, Yamagata, Kijiyama, Nanbu, Tsugaru, Zao-takayu and Hijiori.
A relatively new art form, the creative Kokeshi made its beginning by the end of World War II. The titles of some of the creations themselves were catchy -- `Yoshida Takashi' (a moment), `Miyajima Mohitsu' (meditation) and `Kuribayashi Issetsu' (spring banquet) and `Kobayashi Inosuke' (country girl).
RANI SASIKUMAR
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