Naruko kokeshi Okazaki Yasuo chrysanthemum signed Showa.jpeg

Sōsaku kokeshi by Seiju Kon named Oshinobi Dochu, Shōwa period, 1965

Name: Japanese sosaku kokeshi Seiju Kon Oshinobi Dochu signed showa | KAIKO&CO
Brand: KAIKO&CO
Price: 95.0 EUR
Availability: InStock

€95.00

The first thing you notice is the hat. It stops you before you understand what you are looking at. Below it, the body is built from rings of different wood, each one a slightly different tone of amber and chestnut, pressed together in warm tiers. At the very top, a painted face, small and precise.

Someone thought carefully before they made it.

Seiju Kon, whose given name is Kon Akira, was born in 1931 in the Yamagata area and studied under master woodworker Hasegawa Tatsuo. His work is rooted in the Tsugaru kokeshi tradition and he returned, throughout his career, to a small set of subjects: figures from Noh theatre, women of the Heian court, characters from the world of classical Japanese performance and rank.

She is one of those. She belongs to a series he made across decades, and it is immediately recognizable to anyone who has seen his work before.

Someone thought carefully before they made it.

She is one of those. She belongs to a series he made across decades, and it is immediately recognizable to anyone who has seen his work before.

What makes this creative kokeshi special

The up close look and feel

Tsugaru kokeshi are known for their painted surfaces, and Seiju Kon uses that tradition influencing his works. The face is small and flat, the features applied in precise, economical brushstrokes, a style that reads as simple until you look closely and realize how much is said in very little.

In the hand, the piece feels warm. Where the different woods meet, your fingers find the faint edges of the joins, rings you can trace around the body. The lathe work underneath is very smooth.

Charming details

This kokeshi lady has a name: Oshinobi Dochu. It means traveling incognito. A noblewoman of high rank has disguised herself for the road, pulling a wide hat low over her face, wrapping herself in a heavy layered coat so that no one will know who she is. It is her protection.

The tiered wood body is the travel coat, each layer a different wood as if a different fabric. Once you know the name, the form resolves into a figure you recognize in a single look.

- Kon Akira, working under the art name Seiju. Born 1931, from the Yamagata area, a central prefecture in Japan's kokeshi-making tradition.
- Studied under master woodworker Hasegawa Tatsuo. Designs rooted in the Tsugaru kokeshi tradition; pieces were historically sold at the Owani Spa in Aomori.
- Known for recurring subjects drawn from Noh theatre and the Heian court, including stylized noblewomen and masked performers.
- Little is documented about this maker outside specialist kokeshi circles; his work is identified by style and by his handwritten signature.
- Signed 近誠寿 Kon Seiju on the base, with a handwritten ink inscription with the date and a red hanko seal.
- Yamagata, Japan.
- The bottom inscription says she is made in October 1965 (Shōwa 40)
- Height: ca. 21 cm
- Weight: 209 gr
- Good vintage condition, consistent with age.
- A hairline crack is visible at the top of the collar, stable and without movement.
- Natural patina on the wood surface and light age marks appropriate for a piece made in the 1960s.
- Keep away from direct sunlight and dry heat sources.
- Clean with a soft dry cloth only.
- Water and damp cloths can lift the paint and cause the wood to swell, particularly on older lacquered surfaces.
- If the kokeshi stands near a radiator in winter, move it, as rapid drying causes older wood to crack.