Breathing life into clay dolls

Lasting Tradition By Tatsuya Sakamoto

Hakata dolls come in all shapes and sizes ranging from kabuki and noh characters to beautiful women and figures of children.

The dolls date back about four centuries when tilemakers made simple unglazed dolls as a hobby. In the early years of the Meiji era (1868-1912), artists began providing cosmetic touches with paint and the dolls became known at home and abroad for their elegant appearance.

Hakata dolls start their lives as white clay quarried in Fukuoka. The clay is refined and modeled into a figure. From this figure, molds are created with gypsum to make the dolls. The dolls are fired in a kiln in batches of 50 and then given 10 layers of glaze, a process that gives a Hakata doll its luster.

Different manufacturers give their dolls different facial expressions, ensuring that no two dolls are alike.

Shuichi Kawasaki, 55, of Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, has created a host of Hakata dolls modeled on kabuki characters. One of Kawasaki's favorite kabuki actors is Kataoka Nizaemon XV, and for the past five years, he has made dolls based on characters played by this actor. He always presents one of the dolls to Nizaemon.

Kawasaki listens to Nizaemon's sage advice on kabuki-related matters, such as the size the wigs used on kabuki dolls should be.

So exacting are Kawasaki's skills that he often spends several years working on a design for one of his creations.

He is particularly noted for his dengakumai dolls. Dengakumai is a traditional music and dance performance related to rice planting. The inspiration for these dolls came to Kawasaki when he saw a sketch of a dengakumai performer at an art museum. "The sketch was a rough one, and it allowed my imagination to wander," he said.

Kawasaki strives to create new styles of Hakata dolls while maintaining the traditions passed down to him by his father. He is not the only dollmaker in the family. He shares his workshop with his elder sister, Sachiko, who makes Hakata dolls modeled after beauties of old called Manyobijin.