Kokeshi Dolls

Traditional Kokeshi

The kokeshi dolls are dolls with a large head and a small body with no legs or arms.  The dolls head is painted to look like a face and the body is decorated with many different floral designs.  Traditionally Kokeshi dolls are made of wood but modern kokeshi dolls can be made in marble and are painted more colorfully than the traditional kind.  These dolls are a popular souvenirs for tourist in the northern part of japan as they are commonly sold in hot spring and many foreigners can recognize it as one of the symbols of Japaneses culture but many do not know the origins of the kokeshi doll.  In fact the younger Japanese people will most likely smile when the word is said because it is now used as a sexual innuendo because of the shape of the doll.

Creative/Modern Kokeshi

A kokeshi doll has many different significances some that are speculative because of the etymology of the word.  Either way there are two different histories that are given to the doll and both have to do with children.  The first is a bit dark, because the word kokeshi can be written in kanji in many different ways one of the theories for its origins has to do with abortion and infanticide.  Since 'ko' can be written with the kanji for child and 'keshi' can be written with the kanji for erase some believe that a kokeshi was given to console mothers who had lost their children, since infanticide and abortions were not uncommon to prevent famines within villages.

 The second has to do with the fact that traditional kokeshi dolls that are from their own period are rare to find.  Since the kokeshi doll are made of wood they are said to hold a mountain spirit withing them that protects the child they belong to by the time the child grows up into an adult these dolls are burned so that the spirit can return to its home in the mountain.    Since the spirit is there to protect the child Kokeshi dolls are bought with the hopes for the growth of healthy child and have the month, year and name of the child as well as the makers stamp written on the bottom of the doll.   Another thing that is unique to the kokeshi doll is that they are said to prevent fires in homes maybe because of the wood they are made from.

Because their origin is still not specifically known these are mostly speculations.  Still these dolls are used as ornaments as their colors and craft ship makes them the perfect decoration for homes and a nice gift for people back home.