Chiya Tomidokoro

Bio & Awards

Born in Maebshi city, Gunma prefecture in 1988. Daughter of Fumio Tomidokoro. Her dolls are often colorful with extremely detailed decorations that take hours on hours to create. She’s influenced by the beautiful nature of her prefecture and it often shows in her dolls – ice, water, trees and flowers that aren’t commonly shown on kokeshi dolls such as skunk cabbage (Mizubasho in Japanese). She experiments with different shapes and designs for her dolls ranging from dolls with stands, rounded ball-shaped dolls and miniature cat dolls.

Prizes

• 2014 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Newcomer Award
• 2015 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Special Judge Award
• 2016 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest Chairman Award
• 2016 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Japan Kokeshi Association Award
• 2017 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Special Judge Award
• 2018 – Gunma Prefecture Modern Kokeshi Contest Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award
• 2018 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest Chairman Award
• 2018 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Honorable Award
• 2019 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest Forestry Agency Chief Award
• 2020 – Gunma Prefecture Modern Kokeshi Contest Gunma Prefecture Assembly Chairman Award
• 2021 – Gunma Prefecture Modern Kokeshi Contest Kanto Regional Forestry Chairman Award
• 2022 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award
• 2023 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award

Chiya Tomidokoro Signature & Hanko