The look and feel up close

The dark body has a slightly matte, textured surface, the paint applied in layers that give the deep red-purple its depth. The botanical motifs are painted in gold and warm amber, loosely spaced against the dark ground.

Two small black circular mon sit on the upper body, barely visible unless you look closely. The large black head is smooth and lacquered, the contrast between it and the pale face striking at any distance. In hand the doll is dense for its size, the wood solid and well-balanced.

Charming details

The michiyuki form, the short overcoat worn over a kimono, is Fujikawa's signature body shape. It gives his figures a particular stillness: where a cylindrical body suggests a figure standing, the wider shoulders and tapered base of the michiyuki suggest a figure composed, waiting.

The seasonal botanical motifs are not decorative filler but the primary subject of each piece, chosen and arranged differently across his output. On this doll the grasses and flowers read as autumn, a season Fujikawa returned to repeatedly across his career.