Vintage Japanese Yajirou Wheeled Push Ring Toss Toy Train by Tsuta, Fumio
Dimensions: 5-3/4”h x 3-1/4”w x 6-1/2”l
Lathe-turned wooden toys produced by the Tsuta family was inspired by Kokeshi craftsmen throughout Northern Japan. Toys are among the most oldest toys known to both entertain and educate children. Offered is an unusual, vintage Kijigangu by Tsuta, Fumio son of Tsuta, Mamoru of Tsuta Family of toy makers. Fumio apprenticed under his father and continues to produce toys with the same aesthetic today and inspired by older family members and rooted in nostalgia.
This vintage Yajirou interactive toy train, referred to as a Kisha. It is intricately carved and assembled with all the necessary parts to identify it as a train, (boiler, smoke stack which in this case is the ring tower). The tower is painted in a veritable rainbow of colors, utilizing the Rokoru mono style of decoration using vertical stripes running around the body of the train in the usual colors of red and black to yellow, green, and purple. The piece is unsigned and was sold at the Onagawa Spa in Yamagata and sold as a souvenirs to Japanese families traveling and brought home to their children. NOTE: The pigments used in this doll's creation are not colorfast, so colors may fade if brought into contact with water. The entire figure should be handled carefully at all times as it has been by the previous owner who treasured the works of the Tsuta family.
For further reading about Yajirou-key family go to: https://mingeiarts.com/collections/yajirou-kei-family and https://mingeiarts.com/collections/artisan-interactive-toymaker-tsuta-family-sakuzuo-mamoru-fumio-1892-1944 and https://mingeiarts.com/collections/artisan-interactive-toymaker-tsuta-family-sakuzuo-mamoru-fumio-1892-1944
Condition: Excellent to Good meaning that the piece retains its original craft/workmanship and functions as intended, showing void of damage, cracks, breakage, or repairs with the exception that in spots the quality of painting varies but meets all the standards of the collectible Vintage Traditional Yajirou Kokeshi Toys.
Return Policy
Our antique/vintage pieces are identified/described and professionally photographed, and considered, “as is”, therefore all sales are final. Read our full refund and return policy.
Artisan | Interactive Toymaker: Tsuta Family – Sakuzuo, Mamoru, Fumio | 1892-1944
Origin:
Grandfather Sakuzuo (1892-1957), Father Mamoru (1928-2009), and son Fumio (1944-), handed down toy making from generation to generation and have been producing for over 100 years. Son, Fumio, continues to produce and sell their creations at the Onogawa Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture, since the beginning of this family enterprise. Today we look at these folk and ethnic toys from the past with nostalgia and marvel at the engineering ability of early Japanese toy makers.
Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:
Japanese toy makers changed the stagnant fixed toy with their amazing interactive and mechanical toys respresenting three-dimensional images of animals and children playing. The majority of the toys are pull and action figures. Early Japanese toys borrowed heavily from German techniques. However, Japanese toys, Kendama, tops, Oyako Daruma, and Battledore were usually made from recycled wood and painted in primary colors. They are derived from the lives of common people that embody the beliefs, religion, the zodiac system, folktales, festivals, aesthetics, and sense of happiness found in one’s native land. Born on Japanese soil, these handmade toys possess the warm-heartedness of being raised by the common people. Hence for the Japanophile, these unique pieces are true treasures.