White cranes soar from the black water of a lake tucked in the shadow of orange hills on this lovely mid 20th century scroll enclosed in the original signed and stamped wooden box by Takazaki Ko (b. 1910). Extremely delicate yellow trees reflect off the dark surface of the lake, contrasting with the thick ranks of orange marching up the hillside. Painted in the audacious style of Banka, the painting retains a quiet charm in the singular movement of the graceful birds...

Description: A brushpot was uniquely made from old wood root. In natural form, the twisted wood root was skillfully cut, shaped and formed as a scholar utensil with real Zen atmosphere. Date: Late 19th century. Height:13cm

We learn how people lived in the Edo period (1603-1867) from the dolls (ningyo) that were left to us today. They are called Fuuzoku (customs and manners) ningyo or Ukiyo (floating world) ningyo. There are basically two types of dolls of young men among them.

Wakashu ningyo is one of them. Wakashu was used to refer to young men who had yet to experience the ceremonial rite of passage of becoming a man, commonly at the age of 12 in the old time...

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 4.25". This is an example of the "Yajiro-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. The artisan is Niiyama Manabu, who was born on October 13th, 1930 (Showa 5.) It is not dated, but was most likely made within the last 20 years. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through out Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 4.25". This is an example of the "Yajiro-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. The artisan is Niiyama Manabu, who was born on October 13th, 1930 (Showa 5). It is not dated, but was most likely made within the past 20 years. For a brief story on "dentou" kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 7.25". This is an example of "Kijiyama-kei" tradition of Akita Prefecture. The artisan is Onodera Masatoku who was born on June 13th, 1958 (Showa 23). For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 6.5". This is an example of "Naruko-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. The artisan is Oonuma Hideo, who was born on february 17th, 1930 (Showa 5.) It is not dated, but was most likely made in the 1970's or 1980's. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi,please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero website.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 12". This is an example of "Tougatta-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. The artisan is Satou Katsuyou, who was born on April 24th, 1944 (Showa 19.) It is not dated, but was most likely made within the last 20 years. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 11.75". This kokeshi is signed "Matsuzuru-saku" (made by Matsuzuru), but little else is known about is origin. The style could be from either Miyagi or Yamagata Prefectures (my guess is Yamagata.) It was most likely made during the 1980's. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, whcih is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 12". This is an example of the "Yajiro-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. The artisan is Ishikawa Tokujirou, and is signed that he made it at the age of 69 years old. I have been unable to find his birth record, but believe this kokeshi to have been made during the 1970's or 1980's. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 12.4". This is an example of "Yamagata-kei" tradition of Yamagata Prefecture. It was commissioned as a commemorative item and is signed on the back as follows (in Japanese):“38th Tohoku Regional High School Baseball Tournament. Heisei 3 [1991], June 6th. Yamagata-ken High School Baseball Association”The artisan is Umeki Shuuichi, who was born on March 18th, 1929 (Showa 4)...

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 8.25". This is an example of "Naruko-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. It is signed "Tatsuko", the artisan (Ms. [rare in the mostly male world of kokeshi artisans]) Takahashi Tatsuko. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 9.75". This is an example of the "Naruko-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. The artisan is Takahashi Teruyuki, who was born on January 13th, Showa 15 (1930.) It is not dated, but was most likely made during the 1970's or 1980's. For a brief story of "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 7.5". This is an example of "Yamagata-kei" tradition of Yamagata Prefecture. The artisan was Okazaki Shouichi, who was born in Showa 3 (1928) and passed away at the age of 67 on April 15th, 1995 (Heisei 7.) It is not dated, but was most likely made during the 1970's or 1980's. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 9.25". This is an example of the "Tougatta-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture. The artisan is Yuda Sadao. It is not dated, but most likely made in the 1980's. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which is accessible through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 24". This is an example of kokeshi made at Akiu Onsen (Akiu Hot Spring) in Miyagi Prefecture. It is one of the older kokeshi-making sites in Tohoku (NE Japan.) It is a large doll, standing 2 feet high! The artisan was Satou Noboru, who was born on June 10th, 1932 (Showa 17.) It is not dated, but was most likely made in the late 1970's...

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 5". This is an example of the "Yajiro-kei" tradition of Miyagi Prefecture, with a lesser classification of Shiraishi, the city where the artisan is located. The artisan is Ougura Katsushi, who was born on November 22nd, 1947 (Showa 22.) It is not dated, but was most likely made during the 1980's. For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog, which can be accessed through our Trocadero homepage.

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 9.5". This is an example of kokeshi from Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost prefecture on the main island of Honshu. It is classified as "Tsugaru-kei", Tsugaru being the old name for this region, with a lesser classification of "Nuruyu," the hot spring area where many Aomori kokeshi artisans are located...