 Ningyo, 人形,
にんぎょう
- Traditional dolls in Japan are known by the name of 'ningyō',
which means 'human figure' in Japanese. Some experts see a
continuity in the making of human images by the ancient
Jōmon culture in Japan (8000-200 B.C.E.) and in the Haniwa
funerary figures of the subsequent Kofun culture. Expert
Alan Pate notes that temple records refer to the making of a
grass doll to be blessed and thrown into the river at Ise
Shrine in 3 B.C.; the custom was probably even more ancient,
but it is at the root of the modern Doll Festival or Hina
Matsuri.
They are various types of Japanese dolls, some representing
children and babies, some the imperial court, warriors and
heroes, fairy-tale characters, gods and (rarely) demons, and
also people of the daily life of Japanese cities. Many were
traditionally made for household shrines, for formal
gift-giving, or for festival celebrations such as Hina
Matsuri, (March 3, the Doll Festival or Girls' Day) or Tango
no Sekko or Kodomo no hi (May 5, Boys' Day or Children's
Day). Some were manufactured as a local craft, to be
purchased by pilgrims as a souvenir of a temple visit or
some other trip.
Around the year 1000, several types of dolls had already
been defined, as we know from Lady Murasaki's great novel
The Tale of Genji. Girls played with dolls and doll houses;
women made protective dolls for their children or
grandchildren; dolls were used in religious ceremonies,
taking on the sins of a person whom they had touched.
Probably the first professional dollmakers were temple
sculptors, who used their skill to make painted wooden
images of children (Saga dolls). The possibilities of this
art form, using carved wood or wood composition, a shining
white "skin" lacquer called gofun made from ground
oystershell and glue, and beautiful textiles, were vast.
Important figures of this kind included very large images of
legendary heroes, often with mechanical action built in,
which topped festival carts brought out and hauled through
town for a civic festival such as Kyoto's Gion Matsuri;
mechanical theatrical scenes, which were a popular form of
entertainment; and Bunraku puppets, a theatrical form which
rivaled and inspired the Kabuki theater, and survives today.
In the Edo period (about 1603-1867), when Japan was closed
to most trade, there developed both fine doll makers and a
market of wealthy individuals who would pay for the most
beautiful doll sets for display in their homes or as
valuable gifts. Sets of dolls came to include larger and
more elaborate figures, and more of them. The competitive
trade was eventually regulated by government, meaning that
doll makers could be arrested or banished for breaking laws
on materials and height.
Karakuri puppets or dolls are mechanical; they include the
large figures on festival floats and smaller entertaining
scenes, often with a musical element accompanying the
movement.
Gosho dolls show fat, cute babies in a simplified form. The
basic gosho is an almost-naked sitting boy, carved all in
one piece, with very white skin, though gosho with elaborate
clothing, hairstyle, and accessories, female as well as
male, became popular as well. They developed as a gifts
associated with the Imperial court, and "gosho" could be
translated "palace" or "court."
Hina dolls are the dolls for Hina Matsuri, the Doll
Festival, also known as Momo no Sekku or the Peach Festival.
They can be made of many materials but the classic hina doll
has a pyramidal body of elaborate, many-layered textiles
stuffed with straw and/or wood blocks, carved wood hands
(and in some cases feet) covered with gofun, and a head of
carved wood or molded wood compo covered with gofun, with
set-in glass eyes (though before about 1850 the eyes were
carved into the gofun and painted) and human or silk hair. A
full set comprises at least 15 dolls, representing specific
characters, with many accessories (dogu), though the basic
set is a male-female pair, often referred to as the Emperor
and Empress.
Musha or warrior dolls are usually made of materials similar
to the hina dolls, but the construction is often more
complicated, since the dolls represent men (or women) seated
on camp chairs, standing, or riding horses. Armor, helmets,
and weapons are made of lacquered paper, often with metal
accents. There is no specified "set" of such dolls; subjects
include Emperor Jimmu, Empress Jingū with her prime minister
Takenouchi holding her newborn imperial son, Shoki the
Demon-Queller, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his generals and
tea-master, and fairy-tale figures such as Momotaro the
Peach Boy or Kintaro the Golden Boy.
Ichimatsu dolls represent little girls or boys, correctly
proportioned and usually with flesh-colored skin and glass
eyes. The original Ichimatsu were named after an
18th-century Kabuki actor, and must have represented an
adult man, but since the late 19th century the term has
applied to child dolls, usually made to hold in the arms,
dress, and pose (either with elaborately made joints or with
floppy cloth upper arms and thighs). Baby boy dolls with
mischievous expressions were most popular in the late 19th
and early 20th century, but in 1927 the Friendship Doll
Exchange involved the creation of 58 magnificent 32" dolls
representing little girls, to be sent as a gift from the
Children of Japan to the Children of the United States, and
the aesthetic of these marvelous dolls influenced dollmakers
to emulate this type of a solemn, gentle-looking little girl
in elaborate kimono.
Kimekomi refers to a method of making dolls. The ancestors
of Kimekomi dolls are the Kamo ("willow-wood") dolls, small
dolls carved of willow and decorated with cloth scraps.
Kimekomi dolls start with a carved and/or molded base of
wood, wood compo, or (in some modern dolls) plastic foam. A
design of different patterned cloth scraps is planned out,
and the base is grooved so that the edges of the cloth can
be hidden in the grooves. The cloth is glued on and the
edges tucked in. The head and hands (if any) of the doll are
usually finished with gofun; the hair may be part of the
molded head or be a separate wig. These dolls have become a
very popular craft and kits with finished heads can be
purchased. The method is also used by some of Japan's finest
and most avant-garde dollmakers, who enjoy adapting the old
materials to new visions.
Silk-skinned or "mask-face" dolls became a popular craft in
Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, allowing the individual to
design elaborate kimono for dolls representing women of
various periods of Japanese history, particularly the Edo
period. Dolls of this type continued to be made and were a
popular item for servicemen and tourists to bring back after
World War II, though they also might choose dolls
representing similar subjects made with gofun faces.
Kokeshi dolls have been made for 150 years, and are from
Northern Honshū (main island) of Japan. They were originally
made as toys for children of farmers. They have no arms or
legs, but a large head and cylindrical body, representing
little girls. From a simple toy, it has now become a famous
Japanese craft, and now an established souvenir for
tourists.
Daruma dolls are spherical dolls with red body and white
faces without pupils. It represents a priest who founded Zen
about 1500 years ago. Daruma doll is a charm to bring good
fortune and fortitude to accomplish your goals. Fill in one
eye when you make a goal or wish, the other when your wish
is fulfilled. You can make a wish throughout the year, but
it is common in Japan to do this typically on New Year's
Day.
Bisque dolls are made of fired clay. Fukuoka is a
traditional center of the manufacture of bisque dolls, and
Hakata ningyo are famous throughout Japan.
Anesama ningyo and shiori ningyo (literally "big sister
dolls" and "bookmark dolls," respectively) are made of washi
paper. Anesama ningyo tend to be three-dimensional, whereas
shiori ningyo are flat. Anesama ningyo often have elaborate
hairstyles and costumes made of high-quality washi paper.
They often lack facial features. Those from Shimane
prefecture are especially famous.
More recent and less traditional Japanese dolls that have
become popular are ball-jointed dolls (BJDs), particularly
the Super Dollfie made by Volks. BJDs are very
realistic-looking fashion dolls whose popularity has spread
to the US and other countries.
Information source: “Japanese traditional dolls.”
wikipedia.org. Article date: 18 Jan. 2008. Retrieved:
Wikipedia. 8 Feb. 2008 <Japanese
traditional dolls>. |
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