Kano Chiyomatsu Vintage Kokeshi Doll – Shijo (34cm/13.4 inches)

This vintage kokeshi doll was made & signed by the award winning master Kano Chiyomatsu (1935-) in 1987. She’s titled 至情 (Shijo) which means “Deepest Feeling.” It relates to the Tanka (short Japanese poem) by Ishikawa Takuboku (1886-1912) that the doll’s kimono is decorated with:
東海の
小島の磯の
白砂に
吾

This is actually only part of the tanka and the rest of it is:
泣きぬれて
蟹とたはむる

It can be translated to:
“On the white sands
of a small island in the eastern sea
soaked through with my tears,
I play, absentmindedly,
with a crab”

The poem expresses a moment of quiet loneliness, where the speaker lost in his own sadness finds himself absentmindedly playing with a crab on a deserted shore.

It’s hard to imagine what Chiyomatsu san felt regarding the poem while working on her, but he created a beautiful connection between different traditional arts: kokeshi, calligraphy and Tanka poetry.

Kano Chiyomatsu began making kokeshi dolls in 1953, one of the most decorated and prized masters in Japan. He already passed away though the exact year is unknown. He has won the prestigious prime minister award twice (!).

In great condition with signs of age and use.

Height: 34cm / 13.4 inches
Width: 17.5cm / 6.8 inches
Weight: 3.3kg / 7.3 lbs