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.
Two Ejiko, conceived as a pair: a boy and a girl, side by side on a flat base. Nemuri Hina, sleeping Hina – inspired by the pair of dolls displayed in Japan for Hinamatsuri on 3 March. The base is covered in red, finely ribbed paper, edged along one side with a strip of patterned paper – bands of blue, red, and green separated by white, overlaid with gold diamond ornaments. Both baskets are natural Mizuki wood, the grain softly visible, and both carry a plum branch. Yet the blossoms differ. On the boy's basket they are painted in sumi ink, grey and black – Sumi-Ume. On the girl's they glow red – Kōbai, the red plum. Ink and colour, restrained and radiant: in the painting, too, the two are a pair.
The boy wears a black topknot, his hairline falling at the sides. His basket is framed at the rim by Rokuro-Moyo bands in black, red, and grey; his little body wears spiral bands in yellow, red, and black. The girl wears a black hair crown with red rings and red decorative blossoms along its edge. Her basket is more colourful – red, yellow, green, and orange at the rim – and her little body, too, wears spiral bands. Both are asleep: closed eyes in the Fuse-me style, red cheeks, a delicate mouth.
- Set of two Ejiko-Kokeshi in the Yajiro tradition: boy and girl
- Baskets: natural Mizuki wood, Ume motif in sumi ink (grey-black) and red (Kōbai), Rokuro-Moyo bands
- Boy: Fuse-me eyes, black topknot (Mage), Yajiro hairline
- Girl: Fuse-me eyes, hair crown with red rings and decorative blossoms
- Base: red, finely ribbed paper with a decorative strip in blue, red, green, and gold
- Hand-turned and hand-painted – by Yusuke Sato
- Signed by the artist
Ejiko: Height each approx. 4.5 cm | Diameter each approx. 4.5 cm | Wood: Mizuki (Dogwood) | Handcrafted
Base: approx. 13 × 7 × 1 cm | paper-covered
