Usaburo Okamoto Kanzubaki Winter Camellia Kokeshi Doll, Award-Winning Design

A wooden kokeshi doll titled Kanzubaki (Winter Camellia) by Usaburo Okamoto, an award-winning design. Each doll is carefully made by hand. It features a rounded head with hair carved in a bobbed style, and the body is beautifully hand-painted with red winter camellia flowers and green leaves. Delicate carving and coloring express the form of a kimono, giving the piece a distinctly Japanese charm suited to display in an entryway, tokonoma alcove, or on a shelf.

Okamoto Usaburo (1917-2009) was born in Kaneto Village, Kita-Gunma District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He moved to Tokyo at age 15 to train in metalworking before returning home, and from the late 1940s he began producing kokeshi dolls, founding what became known as 'Usaburo Kokeshi,' now one of Japan's largest kokeshi workshops. He applied his metalworking background to introduce mechanized techniques into what had traditionally been a home-based handcraft, and developed designs inspired by children's picture books that departed from conventional kokeshi forms. His representative work 'Kanzubaki' (Winter Camellia) received the Minister of International Trade and Industry Award at the 20th All Japan Kokeshi Contest held in 1978. The Usaburo Kokeshi workshop he founded, based in Kanra, Gunma Prefecture, continues to be run by his descendants and exports its dolls to numerous countries.

Dimensions: Diameter approx. 9 cm, Height approx. 25 cm

Condition: No noticeable stains, but there is slight scratching. Please refer to the photos for the item's current appearance and condition.