Hello friends! Today we´re going to tell you some things about the Kokeshis, that precious and little japanese dolls that are so fashionable nowadays here in Occidental world.

In Japan, the first Kokeshis belongs to Edo period (1603-1867), and were traditionally carved by local carpenters, most of them in Tohoku area, in a piece of wood with no hands and a rounded head. At the same time, face and body were decorated with simple floral design and a layer of wax. Besides, the bottom was marked with the signature of the artist.

The wood in manufacture was assorted. They used cherry, dogwood and Itaya-kaede, a variety of Japanese maple. Anyway, before the wood could be used, was left outdoors for one to five years.

The Kokeshis were made to be sold as souvenirs to all people who was going to visit the hot springs of the north-east of the country.

Today Kokeshis are made all along Japan, and because of the color, shapes and patterns can be classified in a determinated area of the country and under eleven types: Tsuchiyu, Togatta, Yajiro, Naruko, Sakunami, Yamagata, Kijiyama, Nanbu, Tsugaru, Zao-takayu, and Hijioro. Most popular is Naruko, originally made in Miyagi area though we can find it too in Akita, Iwate and Yamagata areas.

More recent (1945) are the ones known as “creative kokeshis” (or shingata-kokeshis) in which the artist has freedom to choose the shape, color and design of the doll.

Currently exists dolls that are directly based in the oriental tradition with a modern touch. There are to popular brands: Momiji and Kimmidoll.

The Momiji are 4 inches approx. resin dolls that have a little cavity at the bottom, so you can hide a message to the beloved one who receive the doll. This method is used to thanks something to someone or wish him/her luck. Or simply because dollies are so pretty and cute. ^o^

The Kimmidoll are inspired in oriental tradition too and represent virtues and values that you want to give to others, just like: love, wisdom, friendship, talent and success. Are available in 4 sizes: mini, maxi, extra maxi y extra extra maxi.

Furthermore, inside Kimmidoll brand, there is another collection called Ukido Ninja Warriors that promote positive qualities of the “warrior code” like courage, honor, bravery, tolerance and loyalty. Each little warrior has his own name, uniform and a card with the meaning of both of them.

Apart from what´s already been said, we can see daily a lot of merchandinsg about kokeshi world like bags, notebooks, straps, bentos, USB flash drives, make-up and even vibrators! ^^u

As you can see the world of Kokeshis is exciting and fun. In Cukismos we wanted to get into it and we’ve created our own Kokeshis for you, the CUKESHIS, right now we present:

Soon you can buy them at our store like badges, stickers, mobile phone straps…

Well, we hope you´ve liked the cute world of Kokeshis and have learned curious things about them! See you soon, friends!