Artisan | Woodworker: Fukushima, Hiroe

Biographical History:

Hiroe-san produced Kokeshi during a short period from 1970-1979, for which there is little biographical data published on this artist. Still, as researchers and collectors, we felt it was most important to represent all Sosaku Kokeshi artists, particularly a female since most woodworkers were men, and whether or not the artist has a written account of his or her life. Each shows the diversity of this cultural specialization and the creative work produced by this artist. Because she worked for a very short period we see very few dolls that have been produced but all are extremely creative in their form and painted details.

Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:

Most of her creations appear in a traditional cylindrical form of the Kokeshi, some tall and some small representing children. The difference is that Hiroe-san adds numerous three-dimensional elements to express the feeling she is trying to emphasize incorporating multiple features such as extremely expressive eyes, and unusual clothing, as well as the unique forms of heads, all very painterly in beautiful colors and employing flowers (some in the form of bamboo shoots), water, and different elements of the natural environment on the body of each garment. Each face of her dolls shows a diversity of age, hairstyle, fashion, and contemporary attitude. She enjoys utilizing woods such as cherry, (sakura) having light background colors to complement her painterly skills.