A baby rests in its basket – sheltered, still, barely visible. The Ejiko form, originally inspired by the wooden carrying baskets in which children of the Tōhoku region were cradled during fieldwork, is here reduced to its emotional essence: protection, warmth, and a sense of being held. This Kokeshi variant has long been regarded as an expression of maternal care – and Yusuke Sato carries that tradition forward with unusual lightness. He works at Kijidokoro Sato, a workshop with over 120 years of history at the heart of the Yajiro region.
The miniature takes up the Kiku motif of the larger Ejiko at half the size – without leaving anything out. The basket is pale, natural Mizuki wood as its ground, the grain softly visible. Upon it, a hand-painted chrysanthemum in deep red and green with an orange stamen, expressive and broadly set. Above and below, dense Rokuro-Moyo bands in red and green frame the basket. Nestled inside sits the Kokeshi figure: a round head with a small black topknot, closed eyes in the Fuse-me style, red cheeks. Red plum blossoms along the sides – fine brushwork on the smallest of canvases.
Ejiko-Kokeshi in the Yajiro tradition, miniature edition
Basket: natural Mizuki wood, Kiku motif in red and green, Rokuro-Moyo bands
Kokeshi figure: Fuse-me eyes, black topknot (Mage), Yajiro hairline
Body: Rokuro-Moyo spiral bands in red and green
Hand-turned and hand-painted – by Yusuke Sato
Signed by the artist
Height: approx. 4.5 cm | Diameter: approx. 4 cm | Wood: Mizuki (Dogwood) | Handcrafted
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.
