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share your feelings.”
Japanese dolls can be categorised
according to the techniques and ma-
terials used to create them, as well as
their themes and shapes. Kokeshi, a
lovely genre of dolls made of wood, is a
favourite souvenir among tourists visit-
ing Japan. It usually has a chubby face
and a big head on a cylindrical, limbless
body, painted colourfully.
Besides Kokeshi, two other kinds
of dolls are produced on a mass scale.
The Hinna Matsuri doll is used in the
girl’s festival on March 3, while the
Gogatsu doll is used in boy’s festival
on May 5. Gogatsu is usually a strong
soldier with a bow and arrow, while
Hinna is actually a set of 15 dolls in-
cluding a king, a queen and trusted
courtiers and servants.
Made by hand, some dolls take
years and the hands of many crafts-
men to complete. Depending on the
level of sophistication, the price fluctu-
ates hugely.
Aoki says that to make a medium
size doll skillfully takes 20-30 years of
learning and practice. Aoki therefore
advises prospective doll makers to enter
the trade at a young age.
In comparison to making dolls, res-
toration is no easier. “With some, for
example those made of paper or wood
with joints, it is relatively simple to
restore their original parts,” explains
Aoki. Taking a clay doll of a Japanese
girl, he continued: “it is much harder
to keep this kind of Hakata doll original
because it is a block, a homogenous
structure, on which the craftsman
painted very subtly on a thin cover-
ing layer of plaster. Only an extremely
skillful craftsman can maintain its orig-
inal appearance.”
With around 40 years experience
as a doll maker and restorer, Aoki is
now worried about the future of tra-
ditional doll making: “It, like other tra-
ditional jobs, has lost the attention of
youngsters. In Japan, skillful craftsmen
and restorers are now all old. We are
still waiting for the younger genera-
tion to come forward and continue the
job and preserve this cultural heritage
of Japan.”
The exhibition will be held at two
venues: 200 dolls will be displayed at
the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, 36
Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. The
remaining 40 dolls will be showcased
at the Japanese Foundation, 27 Quang
Trung, Hanoi.
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