Kitty Kokeshi
04/17/2006 @ 12:00 am
I’ve told you about a couple of Hello Kitty’s alternate identities. Did you also know that she can clean up as a traditional doll?
Naturally I spotted her dressed this way in the north of Japan, where these dolls are made.
Kokeshi are minimalist figures made in the northern region of Japan. Basically, a kokeshi is made of two simple lathed pieces of wood–a cylindrical body, with a somewhat thicker and rounded head. A few thin, painted lines define the face, and the body has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow.
(Photo from kougei. This post was specially for Heather!)
Marie,
I like those kokeshi dolls, got one as a gift last year from a friend in Tokyo. They remind me a little of those Russian dolls within a doll wooden dolls, too. But of course, a completely different ball game!
(what does kokeshi mean in Japanese?)
April 17th, 2006 at 12:52 amYes!! I thought the same thing, similar to Russian Matryoshkas - I wonder if it’s an indigenous tradition or a cultural borrowing (northern Japan?) Even on this one the patterns look Slavic (I mean the wooden one not Kitty.)
April 17th, 2006 at 8:25 am