Kokeshi-Do

[kokeshi description]

• artisan : Tatsuo Sato
• type : Traditional Yajiro
• tall : 24cm(10inch)
• max width : 7cm(3inch)

What is "DO"(道)?

There is a variety of something-"DO(道)" in Japan - "JU-DO":martial arts,"KA-DO":art of flower arrangement,"Sa-DO":art of tea ceremony,"BUSHI-DO":practical ethics of old warriors,and all the rest. I have even heard "EIGO-DO",that is,"English language-DO".


It is proper to translate "DO" as "way" in English because the word "way" has a variety of meanings as much as the word "DO",which includes the meanings originally such as 'route' or 'path',and in expanse,'method' or 'approach' or 'style' or 'manner' etc. And "the way of  life" - actually,the word "DO" has the nuance of  "dedication".


So, the above "EIGO-DO" is that "you have to completely devote yourself to mastering English!" -one book about it says the following: "Use only English,not Japanese in your daily life, read a copy of TIME more than 100 times, talk to all the foreign people whom you could meet across in the street, and you will master English!" - I often used to go and talk to them in Roppongi, Tokyo according to its precept, but I gave it up later because it cost too much - people who were willing to reply to me were all barkers of "unreasonable" show pub.


Silly talk aside, "DO" itself has discipline or rules - in Kado, Japanese flower arrangement, you have to master much detailed rules - choice of seasonable flower, order of several kinds of flowers, length and angle of branch or flower... these are quite compulsory, so some people leave its lesson, but others who remain say, "these rules have real meaning" - although I'm quite a stranger to Kado, I can understand what they say.


If we want to express sense of the season of tender green as liveliness or vitality, we could choose flowers with rich foliage and make arrangement to emphasize rather its foliage than flowers. But there is a variety of limitation - space limitation or plant trait or something. So, Kado masters have repeated trial and error to express their feelings effectively within limitation -the accumulations of their creative efforts are such detailed rules.


"Limitation" - if we want to purely enjoy flowers or trees, we can just go and see them or we can garden. But the basis of Kado is "to appreciate the sense of the season through plants in a room(usually, "washitsu", a kind of Japanese-style room)". So,many detailed rules -these are also all decoration techniques- underlie this basic standpoint.

Kokeshi-DO

Considering it, kokeshi,especially traditional kokeshi seem to have much limitation - the first is "wooden", the second is "(like) doll ", the third is "with no limbs", the forth is "by using lathe"... these are "intentionally-defined" limitation and even "unwritten" rules. I am really surprised that artisans have followed these rules - if I were an artisan, I would have complained about them -"give me liberty!" - and an old stubborn artisan would say to me, "Do what you should before that!"


Then, what's the basic standpoint in crafting kokeshi? After all, I think it is "the craft by wood turning" - however, there is another craft by wood turning -lacquer ware. So,accurately, it is "the craft by wood turning without lacquer". Historically, they have taken pride in their skills - I'll talk about it as a theme of "Kijishi",woodworkers some time.


I think crafting kokeshi is a kind of "DO(道)" in the sense that artisans devote themselves to it. And "DO" is not limited to matters of Japan - whatever people devote themselves to. It doesn't matter whether it has strict formality or not - rather, its extreme formality even leaves people cold in Japan - actually, Sado or Kado are not as popular as they used to be - they used to be much popular as "training for married life" in Japan!


I think one of the reasons is peremptory teaching - basically, "No buts.Do as you are told!" - how many times I heard the word when I practised Judo - But sorry to say, modern Japanese aren't as obedient as old Japanese. So, I think instructors or coaches had better use more explanation in their coaching or training  - for example, the reason or meaning of suitable stem length or highly-attractive flower angle or something - if they really want to hand down the value of their tradition. Incidentally, as for my Judo practice, I had obeyed my coach from child as an "old Japanese", but I was just slow to realized "not all men are created equal in talent for sport".

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Pray for a Miracle with Kokeshi

"Here comes the World Cup!" - that may ring rather hollow in Japan except mass media.Frankly speaking,the Japanese team is really "underdog" - Japanese like humility but it doesn't always recommend that players give their shots away to each other -often even to opposing team's players - in front of  the goal.But it is not that this is anything new.One of my friends suggested a bet how many points Japan would lose by - I didn't join the bet because "a miracle might happen!" - I pray for a miracle with my kokeshi - doll has been used for amulet which might bring us good luck and protect us from evil or injury.

On the other hand,doll has also been used for tool for "curse" in Japan - there is a horrible doll in Japan,"straw doll",which is literally made of straw.I'm so sorry I can't list its picture because "Unfortunately", I don't have it.

Someone who was horribly betrayed and harmed by his(or her) foe - he makes this doll and drive a long nail into it in the deep of the night,desperately wishing the foe harm.It has an instant strong effect!!! - only in horror films.I remember I would beg my mother to go with me to the toilet at midnight after watching this straw doll cult on films in my childhood - fortunately,now I can go alone.

In addition,doll has been "substitute" for human.We can see this kind of dolls as substitutes or such roles in many ancient burial mounds.

Here is a strange custom even in modern Japan -"Rokuyo",the custom based on an old calender style in Japan.It is formed as one period for six days.Each day has each "meaning" - a certain day is good for all,or another day is bad for all....This custom still remains among Japanese more or less -even among business companies.As major examples,the dates of ceremonies - marriage ceremony or anniversary of the office founding etc. are very often determined based on the calender.

In the calender,there is a day "too bad for funeral ceremony" - according to its custom,to hold funeral on the day means "the departed will take his familiar persons away" -this is also horrible.So still now,most modern Japanese arrange it on another day - but "too busy modern people", if someone must need to hold it on the "too bad day" for inevitable reason,how should he deal with it?

One of the answers is "put doll in the departed coffin" as "substitutes for his familiar persons" -it must be hard to doll.

By the way,the above picture is called "Daruma",this is also a kind of charm or amulet.As you can see,he has no limbs like kokeshi.And the word "Daruma" is sometimes used as a unpleasant metaphor for "helpless" or "stuck" - because a Japanese expression "he can't move even his limbs" means "he can't do anything" in English and Daruma literally "can't move his limbs (needless to say,because of no limbs)".So,I'll really wish with my kokeshi - "Our Japanese team may win at least once! Never be like Daruma!!" -although koekshi also has no limbs.

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Hell training

Zazen Practice

Today I'll talk about a different story from kokeshi.A trivial,but rather funny story about something connected with zen which I mentioned on previous post(cf."Too difficult to appreciate"").

Have you ever practised "zazen"? This is one of zen practices and in brief,a kind of meditation.And if you "seem" not to concentrate on its meditation,you would be stricken by zen master -in most cases,he strikes your right shoulder with wooden stick.And the point is "seem" -you may be stricken no matter how much you concentrate on medication because it is not you but a zen master who judges whether you can concentrate or not.

I practised it only once in a zen temple few years ago.OF-COURSE,I was stricken three times by a zen master -accurately,he was not a zen master,just an apprentice monk in the temple.So,if he had stricken me on the fourth times,I might have thrown him over my shoulder with "angry seoi nage".

Effect of Zazen

There were many other people practising zazen in the temple and I found a rather odd group in them -more than a dozen people,almost middle-age,wearing the same colour jerseys.And there were several people wearing suits and ties among them.They didn't practised zazen -they were supervisors of the group.

At first I didn't know who they were,but just after zazen,I found some of them were talking to each other in whispers.

A:"Ho-hum...I can't stand up at all.My legs fell quite asleep...(note:for long time cross leg through zazen)
B:"Me too...it's nonsense."
A:"Quite so.If this way could make us get better sales results,such all zen masters must have been the World's greatest salesperson long before."
B:"You remember? Next training is the "shout-out-self-introduction"(*1) on the top of mountain."
A:"Yeah,but before that,we must climb the mountain..."
B:"Yeah,with these poor legs..."

They were all salesperson at a company.And this was a program training for them in order to "build their inner strength".Some training offices offer this kind of program and this is commonly known as "Hell Training" - something of a military style training.I don't know the effect because "unfortunately" I haven't gotten the training.Incidentally,I remember that each of the two men was stricken each two times.

The two men maybe accepted the award of "The World's greatest salesperson" due to the training.That's great that they have attained "money" instead of "satori".But they were wrong on one point.Zen masters are at least good salesperson or should be.That is not because they make money with such a zazen training (this is quite a business!). They need the power of persuasion -good salesperson use the power in order to sell more,and good zen masters use it in order to help and encourage people.

Anyway,now I realized why I was stricken one times more than the two men...the monk must firmly believe that I was the poorest salesperson because I sat down among the odd group while practising zazen!


(*1)Zen practices doesn't include such a training.

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