A vintage omiyage kokeshi from Naruko Onsen (鳴子温泉) in Miyagi Prefecture, one of northern Japan’s best-known hot-spring towns and an important centre of traditional kokeshi culture.
This unusual piece differs from classical Naruko-kei kokeshi in its more decorative souvenir style. It has a tall, slender turned-wood body covered with closely spaced horizontal carved grooves, giving the surface a wonderfully tactile, almost architectural quality. A small painted landscape appears at the centre, depicting a bridge surrounded by trees and mountains, evoking the scenic valleys and hot-spring surroundings of Naruko.
Naruko Onsen, located in present-day Ōsaki, Miyagi Prefecture, has long been associated with woodturning and kokeshi production. Visitors to Japan’s hot-spring resorts often brought home locally made wooden dolls as omiyage, and pieces such as this combine the kokeshi form with imagery recalling the place from which they originated. These souvenir dolls form an interesting part of Japan’s post-war domestic travel and folk-craft culture.
