Kokeshi doll; painted wood anthropomorphic “doll” with columnar body widening towards bottom; spherical head; red, green and black including red encircling bands; artist’s name painted on underside; In Japanese Dolls: The Image and the Motif (Lea Baten, Tokyo, 1986) the following theory is advanced - “In cases of extreme poverty women were reduced to abortion, infanticide, or the sale of their children. the doll could be a memorial of a dead child, or a child sold into bondage, kept in the house as a prayer and a plea for fogiveness. The name itself (ko= child, keshi= erasing) seems to confirm this theory.” See translation by Yae Koda of signature (?) in accompanying envelope.
Donor:
Barbara E. Busch
Collection place:
Japan
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Dolls (figurines)
Function:
6.2 Toys, Children’s Utensils, Objects used in the Education of Children