Artisan | Woodworker: Kano, Chiyomatsu (Kanou) | 1935-

Biographical History:

Kano-san was born in 1935 and has died, but the year is unknown. He started making Sosaku dolls around 1953. He was a multi-prize-winning artist, including the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award at least twice. As researchers and collectors, we felt it was most important to represent all Sosaku Kokeshi artists 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.

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

Kano-san shows his ability to create and select a form that best interacts with the natural characteristics of the intrinsic beauty of wood, harmoniously blending the traditional and contemporary imagery. Most have simple facial expressions utilizing a ‘one-stroke eye’, (Hitofude-me). His works incorporate flowers in a multitude of styles celebrating the changing seasons throughout Japan. All of his works are based on the use of only a few woods such as Birch (Shirakaba) and Beech (Buna-zai) which he celebrates with refined carving and graphics. The most famous of his series of dolls featured children in Yukata /Ikat-style clothing or simple lines defining the layers of the clothing. Kano-san’s dolls are highly prized and seldom seen.