Miyagi Dento Kokeshi

Five styles, one simple shape

A kokeshi is just a head and a body, turned from wood and painted with a face and a kimono pattern. Miyagi has five traditional styles: Naruko, Sakunami, Togatta, Yajiro and Hijiori. Naruko kokeshi have a round nose and calm smile, and the head squeaks when you turn it. Togatta faces have double-lidded eyes and a red radial hair ornament said to evoke Kyoto geisha. Yajiro kokeshi are known for bright lathe-turned rings. It is made in Sendai, Shiroishi, Osaki, Zao and nearby towns in Miyagi.

From log to face

• Mizuki dogwood or maple is stripped of bark and air-dried for six months to a year.
• The wood is cut to size, and the head and body are turned on a lathe with kanna blades.
• The surface is polished with sandpaper or scouring rush.
• Face and body patterns are painted with ink or dyes, and finished with wax.
• The head is knocked into the body.

Toys that became souvenirs

Kokeshi are said to have begun after the mid-Edo period as souvenirs of Tohoku's hot springs, and from early Meiji many guests were farmers who crossed the mountains to rest after the harvest. Each onsen town grew its own style, and the mountains kept them apart: Tohoku has 11 kokeshi lineages. Yajiro kokeshi, for example, were carried room to room by local women to sell to guests at Kamasaki Onsen.