Seasoning the Seasons - 2012/10/17 - Dolls Bearers of Dreams

Oct. 17, Wed.
Dolls Bearers of Dreams


The Japanese fascination with dolls extends through Neolithic clay figures to Girls' Day festival dolls, puppets and now cartoon character figurines as well. The dolls embody diverse local traditions and beliefs, serving as prayers for good health and rich harvests, or for the repose of the dead, as expressions of awe and respect for the deities, and as toys or ideal figures. The Girls' Day festival dolls represent the Emperor's court gathered for a wedding in Kyoto. This nationwide custom is a prayer for the healthy growth of girl children. In puppet theater, Bunraku and Ningyou-joruri flourished in Osaka during the Edo Period, which lasted from the 17th to the mid-19th century. The puppets express all the subtlety and feelings of real human beings and it takes years of practice to master the puppetry techniques. What do dolls mean to the Japanese people? We look back over this fond, beautiful and extraordinary history.

Okiage-bina - Girls' Day festival dolls made by paper and fabric
(from Hita City, Oita Prefecture)

Dashi Karakuri dolls - mechanical dolls used on festival floats
(from the Nariha Shrine in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture)

Komao Hayashi, dollmaker
A designated Living National Treasure who makes the toso dolls from paulownia sawdust and starch

Hitogata - paper effigies to bear away evil deeds and misfortune
(used in the O-harae rite of New Year's Eve at the Kasuga Shrine in Nara)

Kugutsu dolls* of the Kami-zumo rite, in which the puppets represent deities in sumo
(from the Hachiman-kohyo Shrine)
* These dolls cannot be viewed by the general public.

Bunraku Puppet Theater
"Sonezaki Shinju" (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki)
Puppetry by Tamao Yoshida (Tokubei) and Minosuke Yoshida (Ohatsu)

Ningyo-kuyo at Awashima Shrine - a rite for thanking old dolls and seeing them off onto the ocean
(at the Awashima Shrine in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture)
You can find out more about this at http://www.kada.jp/awashima/ (in Japanese only)

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