The Origin of Kokeshi_3

Kokeshi as Remainder of a Folk Religion

Kunio Yanagita is the most famous folklorist in Japan,called "the founder of Japanese native folkloristics"."People say",he regarded the origin of kokeshi as worshipped idol rooted mainly in Tohoku region."People say" - actually,I couldn't find the documents on which he clearly said so - Anyway,I'll introduce his "commonly accepted opinion".

Please see this site:"Oshirasama".Here is a picture(enlarged by click) and a summary of it.This is a kind of folk religion in Tohoku.As mentioned here,it is generally known as "a tutelary of the home (ie no kami)"(*1),a kind of guardian angels,and had been worshipped mainly in "Japan's northeastern region"(*1),Tohoku.And "The object of Oshirasama worship generally consists of a pair of sticks of mulberry (occasionally bamboo) about 30 cm long, with male and female faces (or a horse's head) carved or painted in ink on one end.The images are clothed in layers of cloth called osendaku which are added to each year"(*1).This folk religion had prevailed before Edo Era(17th-19th),and still now remains in a few villages in Tohoku.

The points are following:

1. There was an old folk religion,idol worship rooted in Tohoku
2. It had prevailed before Edo era(17th-19th)
3. The idol is just a wooden(or bamboo) stick -it has no limbs

So,"he regarded the origin of kokeshi as 'Oshirasama'".Most people accepted this opinion because it met the most usual deduction "as there had been dolls alike to kokeshi before,the people could accepted latecomer odd-shaped kokeshi easily"(cf.The origin of Kokeshi_2).It also cover the key elements of the question "Why did the people in Tohoku in Edo era accepted dolls with no limbs?"

Find Catalytic Effect

I said his above opinion is "commonly accepted opinion" - because he seemed to have another view on the origin of kokeshi.I'll summarily introduce the excerpt from one of his books:

"Originally,dolls were just simple stick like 'Oshirasama'.Now,there are wooden baby's pacifiers(dummies) made with rokuro,which are a kind of kokeshi.Maybe these(baby's pacifiers or kokeshi) also have the same origin - simple stick"(*2).

And he said "(Such)sticks were originally worshipped objects in the ancient times.They prevailed all around Japan." in other chapters of this book.

Here are some examples.

I really wish you never see them in your dream - I would also think these were quite creepy when I met them for the first time.

These were called "kubi-ningyo" or "kushi-ningyo",literally "head-dolls" or "skewer-dolls".They had prevailed all around Japan in Edo era.The kids of those days played with these dolls - what a fertile imagination!! (they didn't feel creepy?) They often played dress-up with these dolls - 'Oshirasama' was also dressed.And,needless to say,they are quite stick-like.

What did he think about the origin of kokeshi at all -"Oshirasama-origin" or "stick-worship-origin"? In the latter case,this is as same as "the theory of ancient doll-origin" or "the theory of phalluses or some such-origin" which I criticized on the last post - "open-ended".

Honestly,he seems to have thought,"it's not my business!".I heard he criticized some kokeshi authorities as "just kokeshi addicts" - that's quite right because he was a folklorist,not a kokeshi mania.His essential interest was the discovery of hidden history or social structure through folklore or customs in Japan,not pedantic knowledge collecting.

After all,In my opinion,this kind of approach - "as there had been dolls alike to kokeshi before,the people could accepted latecomer kokeshi easily" - has its own limitations.It seem just like the following Q's and As:"Why does water exist?" "Because oxygen and hydrogen exist" - this is not incorrect,but doesn't give any information about its combining process or contributing factors.And "what is the origin of kokeshi?" - if this question deserves to be discussed,it will need to explain such dynamic factors - just like catalytic substances in chemical reactions.In that respect,Alan Booth is more persuasive -he tried to explain it in terms of social circumstances of those days in Japan.

As for the opinion of "Oshirasama-origin",I can only say "it's possible".It seems to suggest its spontaneous arising.But again,I think,"Is it really seamless between just stick dolls and kokeshi?" - dolls crafted deliberately by using rokuro,a lathe for woodworking -this is my primary concern with this matter "dolls made by using rokuro" - there had not been so many woodworkers(kijishi) using rokuro at that time.

It's about time to finish the journey of finding the ancestors of kokeshi.Next time,I'll introduce another approach to this matter,it is mainly based on economic circumstances in Tohoku of those days.

(*1)"Oshirasama" http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=221

(*2)Kunio Yanagita,"Kodomo Hudoki"(こども風土記),Iwanami Shoten,1976