The skill of an intangible cultural asset also appears.
Be strong, dignified, and brawny. The Gogatsu
dolls, the dolls for the Boy’s Festival made by Harakoushu
represent such a wish to your son. A gentle eye is drawn
in more than 30 thin lines by using Indian ink of various
shades. This is the 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. Skillful
works of the master is shining in its details as well. The
perfection level has been improved by neatly reproducing
the ears that are hidden under the helmet. The dolls of Harakoushu
are genuine Gogatsu dolls, which can be proudly presented
to your precious son.
The quality of Harakoushu’s Gogatsu dolls
(dolls for the Boy’s Festival, celebrated on May 5)
is supported by the advanced technique and superior sensibility.
We will explain the Harakoushu’s specialties in regard
to each part of a Gogatsu doll.
The faces of Harakoushu’s 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 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
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 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.
Harakoushu’s Gogatsu dolls with various expressions
Helmet of Gosho doll,
a naked
baby doll with a big head and dainty features
Harakoushu’s dolls also include
dolls with the face of which pupils are clearly drawn,
besides those with the face drawn using the technique
called “Sasame (a traditional skill of drawing
eyes like bamboo leaves).”
Child general
It is one of the features of Harakoushu’s
dolls that the face drawn by the technique called “Sasame” changes
into various expressions according to the type of the
face.
Child general
Harakoushu’s dolls have various
expressions, such as a lovely expression, a neat expression,
and a gentle expression.
Every
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.
Hairs
are plant along the hairline of the forehead.
The
hairs are dressed up carefully by a comb.
Topknot of a young general
The topknot decoration of a general is
carefully dressed up one by one, according to the historical
evidence.
Topknot of Momotaro
(a hero of a old tale)
The topknot decoration of Momotaro is
distinctive. Chikara-gami (paper hair ornament) is
tied on the head to emphasize the vigor.
The body of Harakoushu’s 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.
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.
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.
