Kokeshi dolls are pocket-sized, wooden figurines characterized by their lack of arms and legs. First gaining popularity following World War II, the dolls continue to serve as a memento of Japanese ...

Easily the most striking version these days is the kokeshi airplane, created in 2015. Described as “weird but cute,” this kokeshi has been officially recognized by the Miyagi Prefectural Tourism ...

Vending machines and traditional wooden kokeshi dolls are both icons of Japanese culture, and a hot spring resort in northeastern Fukushima Prefecture has combined the two. The novelty of being able ...

Husband and wife team Lisa and Jacob Hodsdon combine their artistic talents as they craft modern interpretations of the traditional Japanese Kokeshi dolls. Japanese-American, Lisa Holt- Hodsdon ...

KOLKATA: Slitted eyes, rosy cheeks, bobbed hair, hourglass figures - stunning beauties all. They have travelled across the ocean to entice the city with their ...

Kokeshi dolls are traditional Japanese wooden figures that originated in the Tohoku region almost 150 years ago. Crafted without arms or legs, they feature a trunk and head adorned with delicate ...

Galvanized by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the manager of a kimono fabric store in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, began crafting kokeshi dolls in 2014 to promote his ...

Visitors to Roppongi Art Night at the end of last month were greeted by Hanako, a 13-meter-tall kokeshi doll who towered above the crowds. Despite its size, the doll’s happy, smiling face with its ...

Japan's iconic kokeshi dolls, born hundreds of years ago in Tohoku, have recently experienced a surge in popularity. In a way, kokeshi dolls owe their existence to the snow. The iconic wooden dolls ...

Kyodo gangu are the traditional folk toys of Japan. These simple dolls and figurines made from clay, wood and paper were what parents used to give to children at playtime, but are now more coveted by ...

In a small, apartment art studio near Converse Heights, Cynthia C. Gibson, of Cynthia Gibson Pyrography, closely examined a tiny wooden doll that she had just put the finishing touches on with a ...