Artisan | Woodworker: Takahashi, Akinori | 1957-

Biographical History:

Born in Miyagi prefecture, Sendai City, Japan, he is the son of Takahashi, Hashime, and has won two awards: 2004 and 2005, at the Contemporary Kokeshi Exhibition. He is an accomplished artist and has only created a few Kokeshi in honor of his father. 

As collectors, we felt it was most important to represent all Sosaku Kokeshi artists, whether or not each artist has a written account of his/her life. We show the diversity of cultural values and the creative work produced by many artists. 

In researching old writings through articles and books that remain, it is evident that the Kokeshi Craftsperson not only created beautiful forms as toys, but also kept alive cultural values, customs, and fashion through the extensive representations of Kokeshi dolls. The beauty is in the doll and not the signatures, for most masters never signed their dolls. Later they named the dolls, but only when Westerners insisted on signatures because they did not know the artists, so the carvers began to sign their works, for the carvers wanted to promote sales to make a living, during the seasons that did not provide an environment to continue their otherwise daily work.

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

In many respects, Akinori follows the aesthetic of his father in both form and ornamentation. However, his production is limited, and several pieces he has produced focus on the Tanabata festival, which is a Japanese tradition wherein people write their wishes on tanzaku papers, (colorful, small strips of paper), and hang them on bamboo and tree branches as illustrated in his dolls. His pair of the Prince and Princess were beautifully turned and rendered on silver garments although several other pairs have emerged over this production period. Akinori-san also produced several Zodiac motif dolls and several with natural elements from the environment and wildlife. He also employs cherry, (body painted red) and plum blossoms, (body painted blue) to celebrate the season. He primarily works in dogwood.