"Kokeshi With A Tree Trunk - Dated 1972 - Ko21"
Very good condition - dated 1972 - It evokes the Shinto religion, which sees in each tree the possibility of a spiritual presence. The Ainu also had a shamanic approach to trees, "horokeou" being the god of the bark. There is also a poem from the region of Ichinoseki, a city in northern Japan: this poem evokes a dream in which a young girl appears springing from the inside of a tree during a harsh winter.---------- About kokeshis; they appeared in the 1820s-40s (end of the Edo era). Originally, they were made from scraps of wood by craftsmen and peasants and sold to the people of the city. They were toys for little girls, or offered as a token of love or friendship; or symbolized the desire to have a healthy child. The doll comes from a Shinto communion with nature (forest / wood / landscape). They represent modesty, discretion, femininity, and the feminine ideal. Their buns evoke Buddha. A detailed explanatory note on the art of kokeshis will be given to the buyer.