Kijiyama is still keeping the most ancient style of lathe craftsman. The
craftsman lives in isolated house back in the mountains. In old time, the
lathe craftsmen lived the place, where he could easily get the raw materials,
rather than demand center.
Kijiyama dolls are distinctive because of the kimono like patterns on the
body and sweet faces. This pattern of the kimono with an apron is believed
to be only 80 or so years old. It is thought that Kijiyama doll originally
came form the Narugo doll. The first stage of Kijiyama doll was the similar
with Narugo small size Kokeshi, which is made from one piece of wood with
a distinct neck and the body was covered by the chrysanthemums pattern.
Kijiyama craftsmen developed Kimono pattern in 1920s and established independent
group from Narugo. Some craftsman, who left from Kijiyama to Hokkaido in
1915, he did not applied Kimono pattern, and this showed that Kimono pattern
was developed after he left. These dolls are more realistic than some of
the other groups.
Ogura Kyushirou (1878 - 1933)
This Kokeshi is the type of Kijiyama group,
which was made in 1930.
