The skill of an intangible cultural
asset also appears.
The charm of Hina dolls (dolls for Hinamatsuri, a doll
festival for girls) made by Harakoushu is loveliness. A gentle
eye is drawn in more than 30 thin lines by using Indian ink
of various shades. This is the traditional technique called
Sasame (a traditional skill of drawing eyes like bamboo leaves)
that is the original skill of Harakoushu. The lips with a
gentle smile are beautifully put two colors of rouge on.
The beauty of its pure white skin is also one of the features.
This whiteness is unchanged by time thanks to the technique
called the gofun finish (gofun is white pigment) that uses
high-quality clamshells. All of the dolls have ears. Though
the ears are hidden behind the hairs and are not visible,
they produce a beautiful natural expression. Here is the
display shelf of the 15 dolls arrangement. The Goninbayashi
(the five court musicians) full of charms perform the musical
accompaniment of various dancing. The dolls of Harakoushu
are genuine Hina dolls, which can be proudly presented to
your precious daughter.
The quality of Harakoushu’s Hina dolls (dolls for
Hinamatsuri, a doll festival for young girls) is supported
by the advanced technique and superior sensibility. We will
explain the Harakoushu’s specialties in regard to each
part of a Hina doll.
The faces of Harakoushu’s Hina dolls
are based on the face of a baby. Especially, the eyes are
drawn in a fresh image as if a baby is just born from a mother
and half opens the eyes quietly. As you find the face of
a baby with no impurity, Hina dolls made by Harakoushu are
lovely whenever you see, making your hearts warm.
The
material to make a face is poured into
the mold.
When
the material hardens, the face is unmolded.
The best feature
of Hina dolls made by Harakoushu is the beauty of a pure
white skin. We produce the white smooth skin that is almost
shining, by uniformly applying "gofun," which is
made by finely crushing clamshells, to the skin of a doll.
This technique of "gofun finish" is designated
as an "intangible cultural asset" by the Ministry
of Education in 1966, and the technique has been succeeded
to Harakoushu.
What controls the quality of the face of a Hina doll most
greatly is the drawing style of eyes and lips. Eyes and lips
are the parts that are technically very difficult to draw,
and the expression of a doll changes variously depending
on how to draw them. The eyes of a Hina doll made by Harakoushu
are drawn in more than 30 thin lines by properly using Indian
ink of various shades. This is the traditional technique
called Sasame (a traditional skill of drawing eyes like bamboo
leaves) that is the original skill of Harakoushu. Moreover,
two colors of rouge are beautifully put on to the lips, making
the doll smile gently.
Every
Hina doll of Harakoushu has “ears,” even if dolls
are small. And, in order to attach the ears not only as the
mere raise but also with the proper contour, we use the special
technique and invest a great deal of time and effort. In
such a way, the perfection level of a doll has been improved
by attaching the ears in the shape of real ears, even if
they are hidden behind the hair.
The hairstyle is also carefully made by the
technique peculiar to Harakoushu. In the first place, a line
is deeply carved along the hairline of the forehead. Hairs
(raw silk of fine quality) are deliberately planted along
the line, without using any sort of paste on the head, and
the hairs are dressed up carefully by a comb. In this way,
the hairstyle of the Heian Period, which is called “O-Suberakashi”(*1),
is splendidly reproduced.
(*1) The hairstyle of court women
in the Heian Period that hangs a long hair down in the back
The body of Harakoushu’s Hina doll is
all made by hardening paulownia wood powder. Styrene foam
or plastic suitable for mass production is not used at all,
and we treasure the hand-made manufacturing method that has
been handed down since olden times and do not change the
attitude to pursue the genuine things. Above all, the gentle
and beautiful shape peculiar to Harakoushu’s doll conceals
a deep taste, at which people never get tired of looking
for a long time.
Fill
the mold with the material to make
the body.
Remove
the mold quietly so that the material
should not collapse.
Remove
the mold quietly so Dry the body pulled
out from the mold for 2 to 3 week under
the sun.
Smoothen the dried body by using
a file, bury the dented parts, and finish up
to a flat surface that does not have unevenness.
Shave
off the protruding portion by using
a file.
Bury
the dented parts with paulownia wood
powder.
Carve
lines to do the kimekomi work on the
body.
Dress
the body by embedding cutout fabric into
the lines on the body using a spatula.
Harakoushu’s Hina doll is finished carefully in every
detail including the back of the doll that is usually hidden
and cannot be seen.
As for the clothes, we always try to arrange
sophisticatedly the modern colors special to a female artist
and the traditional colors in a harmonized manner. And, dolls
are deliberately dressed up one by one with all our heart
using carefully-selected fabric of the highest-quality pure
silk.
About a set of Hina dolls
A set of Hina dolls is basically composed of
the following fifteen dolls: the emperor and empress dolls;
the three court ladies; the five court musicians; the followers;
the guards; the servants. Some families choose a compact
set that consists of the emperor and empress dolls, but others
choose a set that includes other types of dolls.
Here, we
introduce the three court ladies, the servants, and the five
court musicians, besides the emperor and empress dolls.
One of the three court ladies
(holding a sanpou, a small wooden stand on
which an offering is placed)
If a Hina doll decoration consists of fifteen dolls,
white teeth can be seen between the parted lips of some
of the dolls among the three court ladies, the five musicians,
and the grooms.
Servant
(holding a tategasa, an umbrella with a
long handle)
The servants are a group of three drinkers
who get angry, cry, and smile. The servant with an
angry face is a symbol of young people who tend to
become impatient.
Servant
(holding a daigasa, a rain helmet mounted
on a pole)
One of the servants is in a crying face.
This is a symbol of middle-aged people who tend to
become pessimistic to everything.
Servant
(holding a kutsudai, a shoes stand)
One of the servants is in a smiling face.
This is a symbol of elderly people who come to know
enough about life and give a smile.
Five court musicians
(The chanting of Noh text)
Each of the five musicians dresses their
hair in different chigomage styles of the Edo Period
of Japan.
Five court musicians
(Large hand drum)
Each chigomage hairstyles of the five
court musicians has different tastes, and backs up
the prettiness of their faces.
