By Chōjiro, Bunka/Bunsei era (1804–1830)
Donated by Saitō Shōji
Kokin dolls––‘kokin’ meaning ‘old and new’––were first made in Edo towards the end of the Edo period (1603–1868). Dolls during this time were comparatively more realistic, the effect of which was heightened by using glass beads known as ‘tamagane’ for eyes.
These dolls were made by Chōjiro, a doll-maker from the Ōyama domain (present-day Shōnai) in Yamagata Prefecture. The faces of the dolls are carved in distinctly local regional styles.