Kobayashi Kotaro born on March 13, 1936, as the eldest son of woodcarver Kobayashi Eizo in Muikamachi, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. He is said to have started making Kokeshi dolls around 1951. However, he did not begin making them in earnest until after 1960. His style was delicately painted and modeled after his father Eizo's postwar works.
