Kokeshi: From Folk Toy to Art Toy

(Isobel & the Pearl Forest by Catherine Brooks)



(Grouping by Phoebe Washer)




Most recently my sister Anna and I visited the Japanese American National Museum here in Los Angeles to see their current Kokeshi doll exhibit.

Kokeshi are traditional Japanese dolls, usually made of two pieces of wood. Generally characterized by a long trunk of a body and a round head. Very simple and almost modern in their design. They also have few thin painted lines to define the face and hair. Originally the dolls were toys for the children of farmers and later became souvenirs for visitors and today are largely used as a sort of home decoration.

The new exhibit is a combination of traditional dolls along with hundreds of examples of contemporary and (my favorite!) custom Kokeshi’s created by American and international artists solely for the exhibit.

It ends October 4th so be sure to stop by soon if you’re in the neighborhood!

(Below) Close-ups of many of the dolls made for the exhibit courtesy of Twinklings, the curator's official blog. Also, many of the dolls can be purchased through the museums site *HERE*.



(Forest Friends by APak)



(Pin by Red Nose Studio)



After the exhibit my sister and I felt completely inspired to create our own Kokeshi dolls. These are the wooden pieces we put together for the experiment. We bought the wood at Michael's and screwed them in together using an electric drill (power tools are scary fun!). See, this is what happens when your computer breaks. Will let you know how it turns out by the end of the week!



*Besos*