TURNING JAPANESE

Simple yet expressive, Japan’s iconic wooden kokeshi dolls are highly collectable pieces of folk art. Emma Longstaff explores their history, appeal and intriguing craftsmanship

- Emma Longstaff 

Kokeshi are one of Japan’s most intriguing folk art traditions. With no arms, no legs, and oversized heads, the dolls spark very different reactions. ‘Some people immediately fall in love with them,’ says Michael Horner, a dealer who specialises in Japanese antiques, ‘but others find them a bit disturbing.’

Very little documentation exists to explain their roots, but kokeshi were originally made in Tohoku, a sparsely populated region of mountains, forests, and volcanoes to the north of Japan’s main island. Michael loves the romance of the dolls’ origins: ‘Centuries ago, during the long, harsh winters, local farmers and artisans made the simple wooden dolls to while away the time and give their children something to play with. In the 1800s, outsiders started visiting the region’s hot springs, and they wanted a memento to take home. Just like when the Georgians visiting spa resorts in the UK started buying papier mâché goods, kokeshi were soon popularised as souvenirs, too.’ Manami Okazaki, an author of books on kokeshi, a curator and collector, explains that kokeshi are now part and parcel of Japanese culture: ‘Other cultures have their own doll-making traditions, like the Russian nesting dolls. Whereas Russian dolls are maximalist, with lots of colour and lots of pattern, the Japanese dolls are very minimalist. They’re an aesthetic exercise in how much you can take away.’

For Manami, it’s their simplicity that makes kokeshi so appealing. ‘Although they’re very simple, they’re also incredibly expressive. Their faces are painted with simple brushstrokes and are quite ambiguous, but they have a calming presence. Lots of people feel an emotional affinity with them.’ Michael agrees – one of his customers is a psychologist, who finds the dolls help their patients to open up.