Vintage Japanese Traditional Tsugaru ‘Daruma’ Kokeshi by Mori, Hidetaro ( 1895-1986)
Dimensions: 9-1/2” h
This Rare Daruma Kokeshi in slender doll form is difficult to find, primarily because most Daruma dolls are seen as the ‘roly-poly’ type and this motif was introduced by More-san early in his career when he became focused on Daruma. The face of Daruma is very graphically rendered on the lower half of this body and dominates the front along with red and black stripes, (Rokuro Moyo), below the neck, the center, and at the base of the doll. This doll has a round chest, thin waist, and cone-shaped lower body. The face of this doll is quite unusual in that this Tsuchiyu face shows a very expressive one-eye lid and open eyes, a ‘Maru-Bata’ round nose, a smiling expression in her eyes, and a red mouth. One of the most distinguishing features of this doll is that its hair is in a ‘bob’ styling with a ‘chignon’, (topknot), with a red circle on the top. The hair is solid black, with feathered brush strokes visible on the nap of the back of her hair. The piece is identified with the name of the Onsen and signed on the bottom of the doll.
This strain and type of Kokeshi is mainly made in the towns of Nuruyu and Omani in Aomori-ken where More, Hidetaro studied under Mori, Motokichi (1895-). For More Information on this Family see: (https://mingeiarts.com/collections/tsugaru-kei-family).
Condition: Excellent meaning that the piece retains its original craft/workmanship, and shows a wonderful-developed patina commensurate with its age. It is void of damage, cracks, breakage, or repairs, and meets all the standards of the collectible Traditional Tsugaru Kokeshi.
Japanese Traditional Kokeshi
Tsugaru-Kei (Family)
Prefecture: Aomori
Origin:
Tsugaru is the youngest of the eleven traditional kokeshi strains. They began in the 1920s. A Tsugaru doll has a great deal of variety in its shape and pattern. The Tsugaru Kokeshi are made from a solid piece of wood, created using a difficult reverse lathe technique. The Tsugaru Kokeshi is the only strain to still use this method. The Tsugaru-kei developed after adults took an interest in buying more kokeshi as souvenirs from trips to the hot-spring resorts. Tsugaru dolls, which originated in the Aomori Prefecture in the region of the same name, are sometimes also known as Nuruyu dolls, originally fabricated by Hidetaro Mori. They made their appearance at Nuruyu (“lukewarm") Onsen, in the city of Kuroishi.
Collector's note – characteristics/painting style:
The dolls have round chests, thin waists, and cone-shaped lower bodies on which human faces are painted. They will strike you as quite unusual and interesting. One of the distinguishing features of this family of Kokeshi is a heavier hairstyle, in that most are Okappa styling, which has a full head of hair or mostly full head of hair in a bob style, and a chignon or topknot, without much decoration on the head. The hair is painted solid black, with brush strokes visible on the edges of the bangs and hair. One can easily recognize a Tsugaru doll because many will have the face of Daruma painted on the lower half of the body, with flowers painted on the doll looking quite realistic. The short history of the strain may not yet have given it enough time to utilize flowers such as White irises, peonies, and camellias. Stripes (Rokuro Moyo) appear at the top, center, or bottom of the doll. Some doll motifs, such as Ainu (native designs), that replace the Daruma image have simplified versions of peonies, irises, cherry blossoms, and camellia.
NOTE: We have seen a few dolls with the image of Daruma that were created by Sato, Zenji, (b.1925), in which he drew “feet” on the bottom with his signature, which was inspired by his mentor and master, Mori, Hidetori, (b1895), who used the same interesting humorous addition since kokeshi never incorporated feet.
Leading, Craftsmen:
Abo, Muchihide, 1950, (Hirosaki, Aomori) - Master: Sato, Zenji. No additional published information
Mori, Hidetaro, 1895 (Nuruya, Aomori) - Master: Mori, Motokichi. No additional published information
Mori, Mitsuo, 1955 - Masters: Mori, Hidetaro & Shin-ichi. No additional published information
Muramoto, Fumio, 1941- Master, Mori, Senzo. No additional published information
Okuse, Tetsunori, 1940 - Master: Mori, Hidetaro. No additional published information
Sato, Yoshiki, 1949, (Omani, Aomori) - Master: Mori, Hidetaro. No additional published information
Sato, Zenji, 1925, Master: Mori, Hidetaro. No additional published information
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