A baby sits in its basket – sheltered, still, almost hidden. The Ejiko form, originally inspired by the wooden carrying baskets in which children in the Tōhoku region were placed during fieldwork, is here reduced to its emotional essence: protection, warmth and security. This Kokeshi variant has long been regarded as an expression of maternal care – and Yusuke Sato carries this tradition forward with its characteristic restraint. The piece is made at Kijidokoro Sato, a workshop with over 120 years of history in the heart of the Yajiro region.
The basket is round, pink – and this time painted. Distributed across the entire outer surface are white sakura blossoms on a pink ground, soft and expansive, without contour lines. The blossoms appear to emerge from the wood. The opening reveals natural wood with visible grain.
Inside sits the Kokeshi figure: a small head, eyes slightly open, the gaze inclined downwards. Fine black eyelash accents and a delicate mouth. At the side is a cherry blossom branch – sumi ink, calligraphic in character. The pink hair crown bears the characteristic Rokuro-Moyo pattern of the Yajiro tradition: concentric circles in red, orange, green and white, turned with precision.
Basket and head speak the same language – sakura, transience, the brief moment of blossom.
Special features
Ejiko Kokeshi in the Yajiro tradition
Basket: pink colour gradient, sakura painting in white
Yusuke Sato works in the Yajiro tradition at the long-established Kijidokoro Sato family workshop. His gradient Kokeshi introduce a distinctive idea into this inherited visual language, characterised by finely layered colours that flow gently from one tone into another.
