The word kokeshi itself is originally Sendai dialect, with the dolls being known as e.g. While infanticide was commonly practiced in Japan until the 20th century, there is little if any evidence to support the theory that kokeshi have anything to do with the practice, with the earliest references in literature dating only from 1965. In Looking for the Lost, Alan Booth suggests that kokeshi may be fetish substitutes for unwanted babies killed after birth and the characters can be understood as 子消し, or “extinguish the child”. The hiragana spelling こけし was agreed on at the All-Japan Kokeshi Exhibition (全国こけし大会) in Naruko Onsen in August 1939. The origin and naming of kokeshi is unclear, with historical ateji kanji spellings including 小芥子, 木牌子, 木形子, 木芥子, 木削子, etc. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The body has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax.
They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and an enlarged head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face. (こけし, kokeshi ?), are Japanese dolls, originally from northern Japan. Īs with other Asian doll fans, Momoko fans are known for proudly posting photographs of the doll posed in different clothing styles, in different situations, and in different countries. Although Momoko’s audience is largely female, a few Momokos (such as one of the schoolgirl dolls) have had male purchasers. Momoko has the same Asian target market as the highly popular Blythe and Pullip dolls, and is able to wear most Asian and some American fashion doll outfits, including a number of 1/6 scale Pullip, Jenny, Azone, Obitsu, Annz, Barbie My Scene, and other such products. These include such things as Isetan special Momokos, or collaboration pieces such as Gainax Momoko dolls. In addition to the main line of doll releases, Sekiguchi also releases numerous special edition dolls with apparently even more limited availability. Momoko outfits display a characteristic normality and simple elegance in a range of styles, such as a variety of modern casual looks, typically Japanese school girl uniforms, Japanese office lady style, Western bridal gowns, Japanese summer yukata, and a variety of other looks. The Momoko doll is able to stand on her own without help, though a white metal stand is included. The Momoko doll, like most Asian fashion dolls, has visible joints and good flexibility, able to tilt and rotate her head, bend and rotate the elbows, bend the knees, slightly flex and bend near the waist, flex the wrists and ankles, and so on. Petworks continues to produce a limited number of Momokos every year in their Close-Clipped Sheep (CCS) line, using the Sekiguchi body but a slightly different face paint style, and sometimes a slightly different head. Sekiguchi altered the doll somewhat and turned it into a mass-market item competitively priced with other fashion dolls, but retained the general concept of an “everyday” modern woman one might find walking down the street in Japan. In 2004, Petworks handed the line over to doll-making firm Sekiguchi. (The creator was Namie Manabe (真鍋 奈見江), the art director.)
Momoko was created in 2001 as a side project by a Japanese software company called Petworks.
(モモコドール ?) is a 1/6 scale (27 cm, 10.6 inch) Japanese fashion doll, roughly similar in size to Robert Tonner‘s Tiny Kitty Collier.