Wednesday, April 29, 2020

a Japanese Kokeshi Doll and Thoughts of the Future


Normally I am one of the many people who are on their way to a location on the globe far from their home. But as this virus ravages across the earth I am hunkered down in the Chicago area trying to stay productive.

The positive side of being here for months and months is it has given me some time to reorganize things in my home and get to some of those projects that I put on the Some Day When I Have The Time list. I am finally getting to those boxes that have been sitting in my crawl space for so long that I’ve forgotten what’s in them.

One happy find was this Kokeshi doll:


I acquired this Kokeshi doll in the mid-1990s; the previous owner had a note in the box stating that they purchased it in 1972.
The little book that came in the box 

The maker of the doll signed the bottom


Kokeshi are simple wooden dolls with no arms or legs and simple painted lines to define the face. Originally from Tohoku-chiho  which is in the northeastern region of Japan.
 From the Edo period to modern times the Kokeshi dolls have had traditional to very creative designs, I am looking forward to seeing what the next generation of Kokeshi doll makers design.

After nearly 3 decades of traveling the globe from one adventure to another, I can’t help but to reflect on those years and wonder what the future will bring.

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