This is the thoroughbred!
Miharu Goma
Last week I went to Fukushima -a part of Tohoku region,which includes Tsuchiyu town(cf."Tsuchiyu kokeshi(1)").Though I couldn't visit workshops of kokeshi because of short business trip,fortunately I could get an another craft which I had wanted.
Please remember that they are HORSES! I remember I had a bitter experience when I met them in a famous museum for the first time -I said loudly to my wife,"Look! How cool these DOGS!!"
They are generally called "Miharu Goma"(or "Miharu Koma") 三春駒,formally called "Takashiba Kinma".The word "Koma" originally means horses.Since ancient times,Tohoku had been well known as the fine horse-breeding centre in Japan,and Miharu town had been a part of its centre.This horse-shaped wooden art craft came from this historical background.The people accepted it as a kind of lucky charm to help their children to be strong like horses -the horse was the symbol of strength in Japan at that time.
Who is Gorgeous?
The shop where I bought them has been over the centuries.Of-course,its art crafts has been still handmade from woodcarving to painting.I really admire that the shop owner-cum-craftsman and his ancestors has been keeping their tradition alive -even though they has been just a local art craft and never been as popular as kokeshi.The shop owner said,"We have improved and still now are improving our crafts." -So,they have bred the "thoroughbreds".
By the way,when I confessed to him that I had mistaken them for dogs,he replied to me with much laughter,"Somewhat you're right because the old type Miharu Koma had longer legs than the modern type.".At the same time,he didn't forget to add,"but have you ever seen such a dog with a saddle and a snaffle bit and a bridle?"
If he had worn a blinker hood or a paddle clothe with number,I could have identified him as a horse...but can I really say that? I know some dogs wear more gorgeous dress and adornments than these koma -recent Japanese pet boom.And that always worries me -my wife might ask me for a pearl necklace whenever she looks at these dogs...
