Vintage Sosaku Kokeshi entitled: “Yoroboki | Delight” by Tanaka, Harumasa
Dimensions: 6-3/4” h
This Kokeshi is sensitively formed, with the head and body defining this wonderful small figure. The hairstyle she displays is typically Japanese being solid black covering the entire head and falling to the neck, with the end hairs all feathered and flowing like a waterfall around the face. A small portion of her face is visible, with upward-slanting eyes and a small red nose. And finally, the decorative motif illustrates subtle Cherry Blossoms in reddish pink and green on the front section of the doll. There is an impressed stamp on the lower portion of the body identifying the artist as Tanaka, Harumasa.
The piece was published in Sosaku Kokeshi: Celebrating the Major Artists of the Creative Movement in 2022. For more information on this artist go to the following link: https://mingeiarts.com/collections/artisan-woodworker-tanaka-harumasa.
Condition: Excellent and beautifully preserved, meaning that the piece retains its original craft/workmanship showing a wonderful-developed patina that corresponds to its vintage, void of damage, cracks, breakage, or repairs. This doll meets all the standards of the collectible Japanese Sosaku Kokeshi by Tanaka, Harumasa.
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Artisan | Woodworker: Tanaka, Harumasa
Biographical History:
Tanaka-san is acknowledged as a leading member of the Sosaku movement in the 1950s-60s and is a multiple award winner. His doll “Dojo”, (Young Lady), won the Prime Minister’s Award in 1965 at the 12th Annual All Nippon Japan Kokeshi Competition. He additionally was recognized with his creation entitled: Kantsubaki, (Winter Camellia). There is little biographical data on Tanaka-san, but as researchers and collectors, we felt it was most important to represent all Sosaku Kokeshi artists, and whether or not the artist has a written account of his or her life. No dates of Tanaka-san birth or death have been recorded.
Collector's note – descriptive qualities, standard characteristics & ornamentation styles:
Tanaka beautifully illustrates the accomplished use of form, un-ornamented, and exceptionally painted surfaces. The artist uses wood to express feelings, related to the abstract treatment of the body. Modern-thinking young girls loved these abstract flamboyant designs in their garments to show that they had moved into a contemporary world which transformed their lives and connected them to the West. The most unusual aspect of course is the hair design style and ornaments, which is uniform and adds elegance to his interpretation of the figure. His abstract motifs are typically flowers, i.e., poppies and camellia in bold-colored lacquer. His most famous is the Kokeshi entitled: “Dojo or Young Lady”, left unadorned and relies solely on the carved form. The upswing eyes are extremely expressive with a simple red dot to express the nose and the hair treatment of this award-winning doll was always a uniform ‘Bob’ hairstyle. Dolls from this series were only made from Birch wood.
Several of his Kokeshi were published and cited as a Japanese competition winner introduced in the United States under the auspices of the Japan Society of New York. The exhibition was hosted by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization). The catalog entitled: Kokeshi Dolls From Japan,(Printed by DOBI Printing Co., Ltd. Japan), citing 232 Kokeshi, for which the image of his works were featured with the artist/designer, name of the doll, (English and Japanese), and the size of the doll.