Seiko Sato
佐藤誠孝

Seiko Sato-san was born the ninth child of Makoto Sato (1901–1970), a Yajiro-lineage kokeshi craftsman. After finishing high school, he took work as an auto mechanic and then as a sailor — a long detour from wood and lathe. His father's death in 1970 brought him back. He aspired to carry on that tradition, and in 1974 he became an apprentice to Seishi Takahashi (1911–1978), a Yajiro master whose training gave him his craft foundation.

Sato-san began making kokeshi that same year. In 1975 he established his own workshop, Kijidokoro Sato, which became a family atelier: his wife and both sons are themselves kokeshi craftspeople.