Even beginners can enjoy the process of painting kokeshi dolls in three easy steps. This is a great way to create memories of your trip.
About 1,000 kokeshi dolls created since the early Showa period are on display. Enjoy the world of craft art with its elaborate designs. (Free admission)
You can shop for a variety of kokeshi dolls, from classical kokeshi dolls to character ones.
Limited edition kokeshi dolls and souvenirs are also available.
Usaburo Kokeshi is located in the nature-rich village of Shinto in Gunma Prefecture.
All the woods used for Kokeshi dolls are collected from the mountains of Gunma. The use of mature trees encourages the regeneration of the forest and plays a part in the cycle of maintaining the green village.
Kokeshi dolls are the rebirth of the forest. They are a gift from nature.
The carving, the layered baking lines, the blurring and shading, the gentle eyes.
The techniques of kokeshi doll making inherited from previous generations gently depict the simple beauty of the Japanese people.
Kokeshi is a craft of technique. While weaving together tradition and newness, we give life to the wood.
Kokeshi dolls were first made in the Edo period to express wishes for physical and mental recovery, a good harvest, and the growth of children.
The wish for daily happiness and peace is the same today. We hope that your blessings and encouragement will reach your loved ones through kokeshi dolls.
Kokeshi doll is an expression of wishes. It's a talisman that accompany you in your daily life.
Suddenly, "that person" comes to your mind and you wonder how he or she is doing. Sometimes kokeshi dolls give us such an opportunity.
The person who gave me that. The child in memory. The family living apart. The person you were.
The memories surrounding kokeshi dolls come back to life beyond time and space.
Kokeshi doll is a connection between people. It exists with the memory of warm feelings.
Founder of Usaburo Kokeshi. Born in Shinto Village, Gunma Prefecture in 1917.
After working with artificial stone and metal crafts, he began manufacturing kokeshi dolls in 1950.
Soon after, in addition to brush painting, which was the mainstream technique at the time, he developed a technique of carving and baking to create a three-dimensional effect, and established the prototype for the Usaburo Kokeshi dolls of today.
He worked diligently on research to prevent wood from cracking, and succeeded in making kokeshi dolls out of wood that had been considered unsuitable for processing.
His masterpiece, “Kantsubaki (Camellia in the winter)”, which features his favorite camellia flower on a beautiful zelkova wood grain, was honored to be purchased by the Emperor Showa.
In 1979, he established a mass-production system combining handwork and machines, and since then, he has grown his studio to become the largest producer of kokeshi dolls in Japan, and he remained active until his death in July 2009 at the age of 91.
Masterpiece “Camellia in the winter” →
USABURO KOKESHI
1591 Nagaoka, Shinto-mura,
Kitagunma-gun, Gunma Prefecture,
370-3501, JAPAN
TEL: 0279-54-6766 →
Email: info@usaburo.com →
9:00-16:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
（Year-end and New Year holidays）
｜ACCESS｜
MAP →[ By Car ]
15 min. from Shibukawa Ikaho I.C.
15 min. from Komayose smart I.C.
15 min. from Ikaho Hot Springs
