Artisan | Woodworker: Kon, Akira (Seiju) | 1931-

Origin:

Seiju studied under Master Hasegawa, Tatsuo, and his designs are based on the Tsugaru-style kokeshi, where his pieces were sold at the Owani Spa, Aomori. Little is known about this artist, other than he is from the Yamagata area, a major Kokeshi-making city/prefecture. ‘Noh’ theatre, of course, along with Kabuki, is Japan’s great gift to the Western world. They originated at religious festivals in the first half of the fourteenth century. Kon-san is famous for his depiction of a ‘Noh Dancer’, and he captured the highly stylized masked actor at his commanding and mysterious best. Unusual for Kokeshi, the artist quite offen added tabi-covered feet to the piece, which one never sees on historically pure Kokeshi.

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

His figures perfectly depict emotions conveyed by wonderfully stylized faces, gestures and simple treatment of garments. He employed different woods, particularly Japanese cypress, (Hinoki), and then stained with natural pigments.

Artist's signature: