Kokeshi 0138

Dimensions: 38cm 

Watanabe-san arguably is one of the most popular and prolific 20th/century Sosaku Kokeshi artists. He is famous as shown in this doll for not only minimally carving beautiful woods but also for his use of the gessoed surfaces, featuring a floral design as the central motif.  This unique ornamentation has been the most outstanding feature of this version of a Kokeshi, adding another dimension to his character. His faces almost unanimously depict a universal theme of this doll as it is named ‘innocence’, (Mushin), with his boyish-styled hair. 

The representation of clothing, in this case, the Yukata or in Japanese, yo͝oˈkädə, (a light cotton kimono, worn in casual settings such as summer festivals and to nearby bathhouses), and the white painting of the sash. This design is common for this particular series for which the raised motif resembles Shibori, a type of tie-dyeing that gives texture to the garment. The doll is signed by Watanabe on the bottom of the piece with the name ‘Muchin’ meaning to eliminate the emotions of anger and sadness and a representation of old Japanese culture. An emotion felt by every incarcerated American Japanese, (those whohad cultural ties to an enemy during wartime), throughout the years of internment. NOTE: See the last image, (4) of the diverse creative folk art produced during those years of internment. After extensive research at Nikkei associated museums, we are unaware of any Kokeshi produced during that period of time other than a few unnotable rough one-blade carved dolls. We propose that the Kokeshi entitled: Muchin, (Innocense), may have been inspired by the number of children interned and made shortly after the American Japanese citizens, such as Watanabe were released.