Large Japanese samurai doll, "Kato Kiyomasa". Samurai warrior's dolls, nobori banners, carps, Kabuto helmets and swords are all a part of the display used for Boy's Day (renamed Children's Day) on May 5th in Japan. They reflect the parents’ wish to inspire their sons in manliness, discipline, bravery and the honor codes that are associated with them.
ABOUT HAKATA AND HAKATA NINGYO (DOLLS): Hakata is located closest to Korea and China from Japan on the north-west tip of Kyushu southern island. The Hakata Bay area was the gateway to and from the western world for the earliest time. Trading and culture exchange through the Hakata Bay benefited the area (Hakata was the wealthiest city in Japan once), but the town also faced the serious attempts of the invasion from the outside. Two Mongol invasions lead by Kablai Khan (grandson of Genghis Kh ...click for details
Ceremonial jinbaori jacket made for Japanese Boy's Day. Jinbaori is a campaign jacket worn over armor by Samurai. They were first made to protect generals from the cold and rain and soon became more elaborate and fashionable by using rare materials such as wool, velvet and brocades.
This is a wool jacket made by Maruhei of Kyoto for boy's festival, Sekku. Founded in Kyoto in 1779, Maruhei (master craft ...click for details
Exquisite miniature music instruments in a small doll size, made out of bones (ivory like).
They are more elaborate than shown in the photos. Taisho to early Show period, 1920 to 1940.
Japanese Kimekomi hina ningyo (dolls), Dairi bina, emperor and empress doll. Kimekomi dolls were originally carved out of willow trees growing on the riverbank of the Kamo River in Kyoto. They were made using the leftover material from Kamo Shrine. Today, the dolls are made out of paulownia sawdust mixed with glue. This method was developed by Kanabayashi Mataro (1897-1984). Each section is divided by grooves and each block is covered with brocades. These Imperial Hina Dolls are dressed in the ...click for details
This Japanese doll was made to resemble the women printed in the Japanese Ukiyo-e, "Pictures of The Floating World" wood block prints from the 17th to 20th century . She is sensual and inviting; posing to scratch or fix her hair with a hair pin. To do so, she would need to tilt her head sideways and gently pull out the hair pin so she wll not make a mess out of the hairdo. The process takes the delicate movement of the fingers and is also a chance to show off the area behind her ...click for details
Antique Japanese Doll by Kyoko: Dancing Sanbaso Ningyo Doll. This gorgeous doll with a face of Ichimatsu ningyo (doll) is approximately 18 inches tall on a 3/4 inch stand. The dimension of the stand is 13 inches x 10 inches x 3/4 inches. The crane is hand painted on the fabric. There are some fabric damages on the left side of her upper kimono (cloth) as shown.
Lovely Japanese Musician Dolls, high quality dolls made in Kyoto. The faces of the dolls are different from each other and they have more delicate feature than shown on the photos. Their clothings are made from beautiful brocades specially woven for dolls. The color of red is deeper than shown here. The size of the two dolls are 6 1/4 inches tall and the other three are approx. 5 inches tall. Circa 1930 to 1950.
Japanese chigo ningyo (doll), Kyoto doll from 1920-1940. Chigo simply
translates into a “young child” and the distinct hairstyle of this doll
is called Chigo-mage.
In the old days, there was a custom among the kuge (aristocrats) class
families to send their young boys away to temple for early training. The
dolls were made in late Edo period (1603-1868) portraying the looks of
these young boys. The dolls have chigo wa(loops) hairdos with two loops
on the top and the faces are sim ...click for details
Cute Japanese kimekomi hina dolls, three servants ningyo (dolls). 3 3/4 inches in height. There is one faint hairline crack going across the top of one doll (shown in the photo #6).
