A Japanese Hakata Doll With Six Wigs

My Fuyiko Asian Doll With 6 Wigs.
Her face has a bit of damage.

       The Story of The Hakata Doll from The Manufacturers, 1952: "Toward the end of the 16th century, KURODA Nagamasa feudal lord of the Kuroda Clan, was engaged in the construction of a new castle. Among the many craftsmen busily at work, there was one MASAKI Sohichi, a maker of roofing tiles, who for his own amusement happened to make a doll out of clay. The workmanship was so superb that his coworkers urged him to present it to the lord. When it was placed before the lord, he was so pleased with the beauty of the gift that he employed Sohichi to make these dolls as ornament for his castle. In this manner, the Hakata Doll was born, and Sohichi passed his dollmaking secrets down through his family. At the beginning, these dolls were called "Sohichi Crockery" after its originator, but gradually it took the name of Hakata Doll after the place of their manufacture.
      With the passing of the centuries, there art of doll making gradually developed. In the middle of the 19th centuries, there appeared one NAKANOKO Kichibei, the son of a crockery maker, who was very fond of and skilled in doll making. After learning the secrets of sculpturing from an old master of the times, he applied it to the manufacture of the dolls and evolved beautiful works of art which were widely acclaimed for their beauty.
      Subsequently the artistic craftsmanship employed in the making of the Fushimi Doll of Kyoto was installed into the Hakata Doll. Today the Hakata Doll represents the culmination of art and culture developed through the centuries by master craftsmen. It would be most difficult to equal the delicacy of each expression, the beauty of every posture and the realistic representation of Japanese life which are the essence of these dolls."

Manufacture Process of The Hakata Doll:

1. Out of plaster the mold will be produced each for the front and rear of the original pattern. A set of molds will be exposed to the sun for about a week until thoroughly dried.
2. A lump of clay, after having been rolled, will be stretched and conditioned.
3. After a set of molds are joined together, the conditioned clay body will be pushed into the mold and then removed, which presents the complete shape of a doll. This doll produced out of the mold is left to dry in the sun.
4. After the doll has thoroughly dried, it will then be baked in a wood burning oven (kiln) for 10 hours.
5. The doll is then sanded with fine sand paper.
6. The doll's face is then painted and finished.

The front outside and the back interior of the box that this doll comes in.
Below the text describing her wigs is described. Her costume,
her wigs and the doll itself are all extremely fragile.

Various Forms of Japanese Hair Dressing

• Momoware - For young teenagers 16-17 years old
• Tsubushi Shimada - For young girls age of 18-20 years
• Shimada - For well matured girls 19-22 years old
• Marumge - For married women no particular age
• Shitatimage - Mostly for man-actress in Kabuki-play
• Tekomai - Dressed by Geisha - girls at the time of festival

This Japanese doll has five wigs and one parasol.

  

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page