Artisan | Woodworker: Kato, Shuhei

Origin: No Biography

Historically, the Japanese have been a very modest people. Japanese artists, in particular, felt their work spoke for them, and so for centuries, creative efforts by many artists, with the exception of woodblock prints, were unsigned, yet were easily recognized by the public through a specific style and the artists’ unique personalities. As collectors we felt it was most important to represent all Traditional and Sosaku Kokeshi, whether or not the artist has been identified, their seal, or artistic signature translated, or a written account of this artist’s life. Each show the diversity of this cultural specialization and the creative work produced by this artist.

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

A predicament that the Japanese farm families found themselves in brought about the use of their children as workers in the fields in the 1920s to 1930s. Both males and females of all ages worked the agricultural fields, each having different chores. Yhis this has been a reoccurring theme in many forms of folk art. The children illustrated show the tools used to accomplish each task, and show traditional elements of clothing and head covering. Each doll is lathe-turned with the jacket, (hiaori), made of a darker wood, and treated as separate elements, accentuated by the use of a different wood compared to the bodies. Their heads are beautifully rendered using sumi-e’ painting.

Artist's signature: