Hey Doll

This weekend we went to another local attraction.  Awhile ago our Japanese teacher told us that there was a factory not too far where they make kokeshi dolls.  Kokeshi are traditional wooden toy dolls that are very popular here.  The factory is Usaburo Kokeshi (the website is in English and full of info.) and it's pretty famous---thanks to it Gunma Prefecture makes more kokeshi than anywhere else in the country.  Usaburo Okamoto began the factory in 1950 and taught all the artists who came after him--their profiles are here.

They have a kokeshi museum and you can tour the factory and watch the artists handmake them.    Plus they have a big store where they sell them---I was pretty excited because traditional handmade Japanese stuff is pretty hard to come by.  So much here is made in China, even the souvenir and gift items.

a lovely view of snowy mountains on the drive up

by the entrance

the factory where they carve the wood

explanations (click to read)

handpainting

all the awards they've won

step by step

50000 yen (about $650)

 The ones with what I call "the helmet hair" like above are the most traditional type.  I prefer the ones that don't have the helmets but are a single block of smooth wood with the hair painted on---they are more typical for Gunma (local) kokeshi.  Unfortunately I don't seem to have any photos of them---so here.

the store