Vintage Japanese Sosaku Kokeshi entitled: “Nōmen yakusha | Noh Mask Actor” by Kon, Akira (Seiju, 1931)
Dimensions: 19-1/4” h
This is the largest and the oldest of this style of Kokeshi made by Kon-san, beautifully fashioned that perfectly depicts emotions conveyed by wonderfully stylized faces, gestures, and simple treatment of garments depicting a ‘jo-no-mai Noh Dancer’. Noh is a form of theatre involving music, dance, and drama, originating in the 14th century and an interlude performance and not the main performance. Here he captured the highly stylized masked actor at his commanding and mysterious best. An extremely slow-tempo dignified “mai“ is a character who may represent one of the following characters:”shirabyōshi“ (traveling female dancers wearing male attire), traditional female dancers, ghosts of noblewomen, female spirits, or deities.
The head of the doll simulates the well-known Noh mask (see images), with expressive open slits for the eyes, a realistic red mouth, and the “jo-no-mai” hair design typically worn by this character. One of the most interesting elements of this doll is the multi-colored decorative headband which is true to this character. The garment has shallow and subtle carved cherry blossoms (Sakura) on the surface with a black demarcation indicating the closure of the Kimono. The piece is wearing Tabi on the feet. Seiju-san employed Japanese cypress, (Hinoki), with natural pigments to capture all the decorative elements of this character. The piece is mounted on a dias which is a raised wood platform to give honor to the actor and creation. The piece is signed by the artist with the Onsen mark and full identification on the bottom and is characteristically identified as one of the few pieces of this type made by Kon, Akira.
The doll published in two books: Kokeshi: Wooden Treasures of Japan, 2005 and Sosaku Kokeshi: Celebrating the Major Artists of the Creative Movement, 2022 by Evans & Wolf. For additional information on the artist/family go to: https://mingeiarts.com/collections/artisan-woodworker-kon-akira-seiju-1931
Condition: Superb, exceptional, impressive, and beautiful condition. There are no chips, cracks, breaks, missing pieces, or restoration, and retains its original details and finish. The piece meets all the standards of the collectible Sosaku Kokeshi.
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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:
