Category: Kokeshi

Kokeshi Gift Giving

To wrap up a few posts on Japanese kokeshi dolls, I thought it might be better to explore the Japanese etiquette when it comes to gift giving. Presenting gifts is a meaningful ritual in Japanese culture. Gifts do not have to be expensive, but must also be of high quality. Chocolate or small muffins are […]

Creative Kokeshi Dolls

Creative Kokeshi does not follow the traditional designs from the Tohoku region and instead has an unstructured inspiration that is completely free in terms of shape and painting, the only traditional constraint is that it is manufactured with a lathe. Unlike traditional kokeshi dolls, they do not show any of their distinctive local colors or […]

Traditional Kokeshi Dolls

Traditional Kokeshi is still produced for the main part only in the six provinces of the Tohoku region. All twelve design schools here exhibit distinctive features that allow experts to tell exactly where and usually by whom they were produced. The features of the prominent design schools are explained below. Kokeshi’s oldest birthplace is in […]