Kokeshi

Kokeshi (こけし, 小芥子) are simple wooden Japanese dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted for more than 150 years as a toy for children.

Originally from the Tohoku region in northern Honshu, kokeshi are handmade from wood, having a simple trunk and head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face.

The body often has floral and/or ring designs painted in red, black, and sometimes green, purple, blue, or yellow inks, and covered with a layer of wax.

A popular theory[2] suggests that kokeshi may be fetish substitutes for unwanted babies killed after birth and the characters can be understood as 子消し made up of child (子, ko) and erasing, extinguishing (消し, keshi).

[4] The word kokeshi itself is originally of the Sendai dialect, with the dolls being known as, for example, deko, kideko, dekoroko; in Fukushima as kibako, kihohoko; in Miyagi as obokko; and in Naruko as hangyo and kiningyō, none of which supports the theory.

[4] Kokeshi were first produced by kijishi (木地師), artisans proficient with a lathe, at the Shinchi Shuraku, near the Tōgatta Onsen in Zaō[5] from where kokeshi-making techniques spread to other spa areas in the Tōhoku region.

"Creative" kokeshi (新型こけし, shingata-kokeshi) allow the artist complete freedom in terms of shape, design and color and were developed after World War II (1945).