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| Visit a factory (Free) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rokuro Craftsman's skill can be visited for study. A guide shows a factory to the guest of the group. |
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| (1) Bark removal | (2) Sawing | (3)Pressing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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We cut down cherry and Japanese dogwood trees during winter and take the bark off of the wood. Then it is dried in the sun for six to twelve months after which we start to work on it. The wood from chestnut and zelkova trees has such thick bark that it is forced to dry inside. Those trees are from the northern part of Gunma, 150 kilometers north of Tokyo. |
The dried wood is cut into the length of a kokeshi doll. At the same time, we remove cracks and knots from the log. |
We press the wood into a Oil hydraulic cylinder. The center is compressed and the outer part is cut off. Then we can easily work on it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (4) Working with a plane | (5) Working with a lathe | (6) Polishing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The cylinder from the previous process is worked with the above plane machine. It will turn the cylinder into the rough size of the doll. |
The semi-complete doll is next worked on with a lathe, adding detail to the doll. The skills for using a lathe need a lot of experience. There are not so many workman with these skills. | We grinds the head and body parts from the previous process with three different kinds of sandpaper. The sophistication of the doll depends on this polishing work. Preciseness is critical. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (7) An outline line is drawn. | (8) It colors. | (9) It carves with a graver. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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An outline line is drawn with a baking stick. |
It colors so that a line may not be erased. | It carves with a graver by the design. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (8) Final process | (9) Prefabricated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| A paint is attached twice. | The head and the body are assembled. |
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| The process to completion of the head. | |||
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| (1) Cut to length. (2) Press. |
(3) Shave an outside by machine. (4) Shave a hole. |
(5) Shave a head top. (6) Grinds by machine. |
(7) Grinds by hand. (8) Dye it a color. |
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| (9)The undercoating (10) Grinds by hand. |
(11)Finish coating is carried out. (12) Cut so that a face can be seen. |
(13) Paint the cut place. (14) Attach a face with paste. |
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| The process to completion of the face. | |||
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| (1) Cut to length. (2) Press. |
(3) Shave an outside by Rokuro (4) Grinds by hand (5) Bleach. . |
(6) Grinds by hand. (7) Paint an eye and a mouth. |
i11)The undercoating (12) Grinds by hand (13)Finish coating is carried out. |
| The process to completion of the body. | |||
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| (1) Cut to length. (2) Shave an outside by machine. |
(3)The bottom of the body is shave. (4) A body top is shave. |
(5) Grinds by machine. (6) Grinds by hand. |
(7)An outline line is burned. (8) Grinds by hand. |
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| (9) The color of a flower or a kimono is paint. (14)The undercoating |
(15) Grinds by hand. (16)Finish coating is carried out |
(17)The head and the body are constructed and it is completion. | |
| PROCESS OF MAKING KOKESHI |
| We usually use Mizuki of Mizuki department to make kokeshi dolls. The bark
of Mizuki white and its grain is fine. These characteristics are quite
suitable for making the beautiful features of kokeshi dolls and for coloring
them. When we need whiter color, we blanch the wood. White kokeshi dolls
are made of this kind of wood. We use cherry trees, keyaki trees and chestnut
trees as well. At first we take the bark off the wood and dry the wood in the sun for six to twelve months before working on it. We saw and plane the dried wood, and then adjust it with an edged tool. After whittling the wood into a rough size with a plane and a lathe, we polish it carefully with sandpaper. Polishing is a very important part of making beautiful kokeshi dolls. It takes a lot of experience to gain a fine command of the lathe. A good sense of balance of shape and a high degree or skill are also esssential to make good kokeshi dolls. After polishing the wood, we carve a design in it, draw pictures and patterns on it and color it. It also requres a lot of experience and skill to carve the wood, for we do it directly by hand. We draw pictures or patterns with a heated Nichrome wire, which is our original technique for making kokeshi dolls. We created these kokeshi dolls through the process above. |
| Necessary time for the study tour | From 40 to 50 minutes(Factory and museum
study tour) |
| Free parking lot | Space for 30 buses and 100cars. |
| Business hours | 8:30AM`4:50PM@(Factory noon recess@12:00`13:00) |
| Annual special holiday | It is closed from December 29 to December 31. |