|
Fashion dolls
Fashion dolls have been produced since at least the 18th
century in Japan; dolls representing the activites of daily life, Ukiyo
or "the floating world."
Such dolls may be called isho ningyo (or isho-bina), "costume dolls" representing various
aspects of daily life, humble as well as romantic.
This type is usually fixed in a pose on a
platform; they are sometimes referred to as Kyoto ningyo,
according to Gribbins, Japanese Antique Dolls.
Among the dolls of this type were some that had wigs--either
a wig shop of which the doll was proprietor, or wigs for a doll, male or
female, meant to represent an actor changing characters (including a man
playing a woman). A common souvenir set in the 1960s was a small wooden
doll with a set of 6 wigs and explanations of the different hairstyles
appropraite to a young girl and woman at different stages of her life;
these were sold both in Japan and in the U.S.
Is this remarkable figure
a sakura-ningyo, an oyama ningyo, an isho-bina? Click on the photograph
to find out more (photo essay--heavy on graphics!).
|
"Geisha dolls"
These days one often sees in antique malls these tall,
willowy Japanese ladies in elaborate silk kimonos and coiffures; the skin
is usually of painted silk and the hands are wired to grasp a helmet, a
drum, a branch of wisteria, a puppet, or a set of big red hats. Often they
are in glass cases. There are many variations: male dolls, elaborate or
not; gofun-covered faces, or more recently finely-made plastic or porcelain
faces and hands; round, broadly smiling faces instead of the more mysterious
long oval of the classic Geisha. Some dolls may even have rooted hair and
eyelashes.
These dolls usually represent a particular
dance or type of performance: the "Wisteria dance" from Kabuki, the samisen
player in her quiet-colored kimono, the bride with her shite hat, and so
on. sometimes, however, they do evoke the social categories of women devoted
to entertainment, the geisha, maiko, or oiran.
Dolls of this type with hard gofun, gypsum-lacquer,
or even plastic faces with inset eyes might be called Oyama
dolls (a word that in fact refers to the actor in Kabuki theater who portrays
a woman).
The silk-mask-faced geisha dolls were first designed
by Kamimura Tsuyuko, a woman who had travelled in Europe and got the idea
from French dolls; before the War, they were called Furansu (French) ningyo,
but during the war were renamed Sakura ningyo, "Cherry-Blossom
Doll". They were a popular home craft, made from kits, and were also
marketed by companies (Nishi, Kyugetsu). Most of the dolls of this type
found in the U.S. now were produced after World War II, and found a ready
market with military personnel who brought them home.
Note that in the 1950s and 60s dolls were made using similar
techniques but dressed in Western apparel, or with big anime-style eyes
suggesting Western influence. These might also have been called Furansu
or Sakura dolls.
|
Theatrical Subjects
Some of the oldest Japanese dolls are the Nara ningyo, carved
figures which represented actors in sacred dramas and were shrine souvenirs.
As I have noted on the Bunraku page, the relationship between
puppets and dolls is close. The wildly posturing Takeda
ningyo--see Lotz
doll page for an example--are related to another form of puppet theater,
and recall the woodblock prints of Kabuki actors. On the other hand,
the Oyama and Sakura ningyo draw subjects from various Kabuki plays, but
the heroines are represented as women, not as the male actors who would
play the roles on stage. The girl with the
buckets, the girl with the wisteria branch,
the dancer with a spring horse, with butterfly
wings or with seven "hats"--all these represent traditional dance and theater
themes.
A Gosho child could also represent an
actor or dancer--compare the 19th century example, Gosho
doll, with a contemporary one from the Kaga
Region. Such childish figures suggest a street festival, not the Kabuki
plays which also present lion-dancers.
Hakata pottery dolls have been a good medium
for depicting theatrical roles; some of the loveliest images of geisha
and young women in general are found in this medium.
Another type of doll based on theatrical models
is the "tableau"
doll grouping. Typically one, two, or three figures from a Noh or Kabuki
play stand on a little stage with a tree or other simple scenery.
Noh scenes may depict the figures as masked or made-up actors or as the
"real" people they represent. Jo and Uba, the old couple from the play
Takasago, are among the dolls most commonly represented in tableaux. |
Check the links on the Dolls
For Sale page to see what is available!
|
