UH30151 Kokeshi: Wooden Treasures of Japan; by Michael Evans and Robert Wolf. 232 pages, 224 color plates. Published by Vermillion Publishing, April 2, 2005. ISBN: 0-9759570-0-7. List price: $59.95.

Kokeshi: Wooden Treasures of Japan, a Visual Exploration by Michael Evans and Robert Wolf is a visually exciting and intellectually engaging exploration of a charming aspect of Japanese folk art called Kokeshi. Kokeshi are a traditional wooden (lathe or hand-carved) doll that appeared in the late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century as a toy, and later became tourist wares. Formally, they are abstracted anthropomorphic figures (either elongated and elegant, or squat and sweet) and as toys-cum-tourist treasures, they showcase the Japanese talent for nuanced decoration, paired with graphic rendering of human characteristics – all accomplished with a delightful economy of means. Conforming to conventions of shape and content - with sparks of innovation present in the more contemporary work - these beguiling toys have not received the academic attention they deserve and this dazzling book is the first in English to provide systematic information, as well as an informative (and stunning) visual record.

As often happens with new areas of scholarship, the critical early steps are taken by dealers who know the material first-hand. This is the case here. Gathering from sources both antidotal and documented, the authors position the history of Kokeshi as folk art manifestations and cultural artifacts. With over 400 artists currently working in the field, the authors state that “(as supporter[s]) of traditional folk crafts and arts, our aim in producing this book has been to transmit faithfully not only the visual beauty of the Kokeshi doll, but to add to their historical base and origins, and to also impart a little of the importance of keeping alive the tradition involved in folk arts.” Underpinning this preservation of folk traditions is a text that describes specific doll types in detail, while informing the reader of relevant cultural history, including the traditional use of Kokeshi to embody folkloric characters; for example, describing the Oshin’s (babysitter) figure and its place within the Japanese rural culture. Such tidbits enrich understanding and hint at the larger importance of Kokeshi as cultural expression and marker.

Authors Evans and Wolf are long-time devotees of Japanese culture and their twice yearly trips to secure wares for their shop have paid off in their hands-on experience of Kokeshi. Inspired by their love of the form, the book illustrates the wide variety of dolls, roughly categorized as either dento (representing traditional style) and sosaku (encompassing the creative), along with their multiple sub-categories. Details such as the woods used (mizuki, birch, cedar, cherry, maple, elm, camellia), fabrication methodologies, and decorative schemes are highlighted. Threaded throughout the text are oversized photographic images of individual Kokeshi, often with the marks of the makers incorporated into the design. This links visual information to content while honing the connoisseur’s eye.

A note should be made about the sensitive and intelligent design by Ann Gallenson of A Charles Design, Inc. Vivid red paper with white text serves as the cover, followed by two semi-transparent sheets that screen the modest and beguiling Osono Kokeshi (female dancer) who gazes out from the title page. As a delicious nuance, her profile is graphically rendered on the backcover, suggesting a Japanese kanji (calligraphic stroke) or even a string of folded paper. The overall format of the book is elegantly elongated, as the dolls are, with nuances of design that turn, for example, the recording of marks (of interest to any scholar) into a design feature on each page. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 images of Kokeshi, each element honors the work and captures the inherent winsomeness of Kokeshi dolls.

Kokeshi: Wooden Treasures of Japan, a Visual Exploration offers both a beautiful object in its own right and a clarifying history of the dolls, leavened with nuances of cultural history and custom. For the general reader the book offers many delights, and for the specialist collector of Kokeshi, the images and marks will aid them for years to come.

Reviewed by:
Martha Drexler Lynn Ph.D., former associate curator of decorative arts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the author of many books on twentieth-century decorative arts.