Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyo, has a wealth of information for Japanese art collectors such as myself. I am planning to visit Japan in a few weeks and I bought this book to help me select souvenirs. It is a nice coffee table book too.
The book is full of beautiful photographs and details 18 different kinds of widely collected antique and vintage dolls and figurines (ningyo). Author Alan Scott Pate writes in detail about the history of each type of doll and shares practical tips on how to collect this amazing Japanese art form. Information on several artists who create the dolls is also included.
Included in this guide to Japanese dolls are:
- Festival dolls: hina-ningyo, musha-ningyo, tableau dolls
- Display dolls: saga-ningyo, gosho-ningyo, isho-ningyo, iki-ningyo
- Wood dolls: kamo-ningyo, nara-ningyo, kokeshi-ningyo
- Clay dolls: fushimi-ningyo, hakata-ningyo
- Mechanical dolls: karakuri-ningyo, kobe-ningyo
- Theatrical dolls: bunraku-ningyo, takeda-ningyo
- Play dolls: ichimatsu-ningyo, keue saiko
It's amazing to me that there are so many different names for the dolls. Perhaps we have similar descriptions for types of dolls in English but at the moment I can't think of any. Personally, I am interested in festival and wood dolls. The history and traditions of them was interesting reading as was the information on how to care for them. At the end of the book is a list of dealers in Japan, the U. S. and Europe. If I run out of money in Japan at least I know that I can still get them.
Most of the pages are filled with photos. This is a wonderful book to peruse off an on. It's relaxing to read a few pages with a cup of coffee. 5 out of 5 stars.
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