Yuko Yamazaki
(1956-)
Bio & Awards
Born in 1956 Yuko Yamazaki is an experienced and talented kokeshi artist. Originally she first met kokeshi dolls by Yoshida Takashi who also gave her a piece of wood, tools and told her to try make a kokeshi doll and show him the result. From that point Yamazaki san started creating dolls while receiving feedback from master Yoshida though never getting direct guidance from him. Yamazaki san used to teach a kokeshi class in Saitama prefecture together with Yahagi Ichiko san and under them artists like Tokumaru Etsuko and Chiyomi Horiuchi learned the art of kokeshi.
Yamazaki san has won numerous awards and her dolls are known for being big with magnificent decorations. Yuko Yamazaki is also a very talented painter and she resides with her family just south of Tokyo. The family raises 3 adorable dogs.
Prizes
- 1999 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Tokyo Newspaper Award
- 2000 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Crafts Association Award
- 2003 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Kokeshi Crafts Association Award
- 2004 – National Modern Kokeshi Exhibition Minister of Education Encouragement Award
- 2010 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest Maebashi Mayor Award
- 2018 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest Gunma Prefecture Governor’s Award
- 2019 – All japan Kokeshi Contest National Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Award
- 2023 – All Japan Kokeshi Contest FM Sendai Award
Yuko Yamazaki Signature
Here you can see samples of the artists signature.
