Today' dolls are a pair that belong to my sister. But, she doesn't collect dolls...
These are obviously Japanese dolls, but I have been trying to figure out what kind of doll to say they are. I think at least the one in blue may be an 'oiran' doll.
Wikipedia describes oiran thusly: Oiran is a collective term for the highest-ranking courtesans in Japanese history, who were considered to be above common prostitutes for their more refined entertainment skills and training in the traditional arts.
I'm thinking she may be an oiran, as opposed to just a Geisha, because she's holding a tsuzumi drum.
The description further says: Oiran were expected to be well versed in the traditional arts of singing, classical dance and music, including the ability to play the kokyu, (the familiar Japanese instrument that looks a bit like a square banjo), and the koto, a zither like instrument.
Apparently Oiran were a higher class than Geishas, who came later. Let's go back to Wikipedia's information about oiran: Though regarded as trend setting and fashionable women at the historic height of their profession, this reputation was later usurped in the late 18th through 19th centuries by Geisha, who became popular among the merchant class, for their simplified clothing, ability to play short, modern songs known as kouta on the shamisen, (another square stringed instrument with only three strings.), and their more fashionable expressions of contemporary womanhood and companionship for men,[4] which mirrored the tastes of the extremely wealthy, but for lower class merchants, who constituted the majority of their patronage.
The doll in red may be an oyama doll. Oyama is Japanese theatre, The word oyama can also mean an actor in kabuki theatre, a male who plays female parts.
She's carrying what seems to be a long string of leaves or flowers. I think these may be meant to ward off evil. Usually those are wisteria flowers, which are purple.
From what I have seen, in researching, typically dolls wearing the large hat this one is wearing, also have several hats they are carrying, to perform a 'hat dance'.
Some dolls like these have silk faces over a form. These seem to be more like dolls who have faces made of a paste of crushed oyster shells.
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| They have painted hairlines and glass eyes. |
They both have beautiful, detailed kimonos.
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| The strip of cloth around the waist is called an obi, which I only know because they use the same term for the paper strip around the cover of a Japanese record or CD! |
Both of these dolls are fairly tall, around 16 or 18 inches. It was hard to tell because they're on top of a tall bookcase. If anybody has any information to share about these dolls, please leave a comment.
See you again tomorrow.
I'm fortunate enuff to own two of these dolls. One of 'em came all the way from Okinawa during the Korean War. They're...I think these are "Nishi" dolls, but that's about all I know. They came in many forms, including geisha, oiran, Kabuki actors (like your second one may be), farmers, laborers, and young mothers. The mothers usually have small babies on their backs.
ReplyDeleteLooks to be right. Thanks!
DeleteI knew that wisteria was popular in Asian culture, but did not know that it was to ward off evil. At one of the Asian Lantern Festivals at the Cleveland zoo that I attended, there was an area to walk through draped with faux wisteria flowers.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's what I read, at least.
Delete