Artisan | Woodworker: Yonamoto, Minoru | 1934-
Origin:
Yonamoto-san was born in Tougatta, Miyagi Prefecture, and apprenticed as a Traditional artist under Masters Sato, Kichinosuke and Sato, Shoji.
As 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 show the diversity of this cultural specialization and the creative work produced by this artist.
Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:
Yonamoto’s, Sosaku dolls show beautiful and sensitive turning with an emphasis on the combination of unpainted wood and unusual treatment of the bodies, with contrasting inserts or carved elements to define his dolls. Faces are extremely simple and expressive, with sumi-e’ ink details to define each character. His two famous pieces are entitled “Shimai” (Whispering Sisters), in which the heads are positioned as if they are speaking to one another. Their obi’s are also exceptional with carved grooving to define and give texture to the contrasting woods.