Japanese Hinamatsuri Doll Festival (3rd March)

This is an adorable Hinamatsuri style kokeshi doll pair available at our Etsy shop TheKokeshiDollShop

Hinamatsuri (doll festival) on March 3 is a special day in Japan to celebrate female children and pray for their continued health and happiness.

This is a lovely pair of vintage kokeshi dolls featuring hand painted scenes of Miyajima

This Japanese doll couple feature scenes from Miyajima and parts of a poem / song about Miyajima.

安芸の宮島廻れば七里、浦は七浦七恵比寿

" Go around Miyajima, it's seven villages, it's seven seas, and seven Ebisu* "

*Japanese God of fishermen 

Available on our Etsy store The Kokeshi Doll Shop.

 

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Traditional style Kokeshi dolls - Christmas colours

 

These super cute kokeshi (£15 per doll) are available on our Etsy shop TheKokeshiDollShop

Owls as lucky charms in Japan

Owl ornaments on sale at Japanya

Owls in Japan are considered lucky possibly because the word for owl, FUKURO ふくろう, is similar to the Japanese word for luck 福 pronounced FUKU. In addition, FUKU is associated with protection against bad luck (as in fukurou 不苦労 meaning “not having hardship/trouble”). 

                                                                                                                       

Vintage Kimono available on our Etsy shop

This fantastic furisode kimono would make a stunning wall display. Available on our etsy vintage kimono shop, JapaneseKimonoShop

Different types of Traditional Kokeshi

There are 11 types of traditional kokeshi named after the different hot spring areas where they are made (Tsugaru, Nanbu, Zao, Sakunami, Tsuchiyu, Hijori, Yajiro, Togatta, Naruko, Yamagata and Kijiyama).  Each type have distinctive styles with their own motifs, body styles, and facial features.  They are all highy collectable!