TALL VINTAGE KOKESHI

This very tall kokeshi is by Matagoro Yashima and is made from very soft sugi wood (cedar). This is what makes his dolls so different to other kokeshi. 

It is said a long time ago, a Kiji-shi by the name of Matagoro harvested Sugi, (Cedar), in the mountains of Nangai-cho and he was a highly-skilled carver who enjoyed working with ‘Sugi’, as it was an aromatic, softwood with an evident grain.  His ancestors created what was the first generation Matagoro doll which is believed to be one of his original conceptions of this doll’s shape and simple form. 

 Sugi (cedar) wood was too soft to work on the primitive lathe in use at the time, Matagoro-san who is 7th generation carved/chiseled his dolls, until more modern techniques allowed for shaping them on a lathe. The aesthetic difference between his doll is that the suggestion of the Kimono is usually a simple line. He also incorporated Haiku  into his creations.

This kokeshi is 58cm tall and has haiku on the back and artists signature. There are some age spots but only enhances the aged patina.