Thank youfor looking. Please visit my other listings of contemporary and antiqueJapanese art.

Buyseveral and save–please feel free to inquire.
MasterKazuo Ishiyama石山和夫(1929-2017), ZaoSchool. Yamagata Pref., Japan. Circa the 1980s.
Vintage kokeshi by Master Kazuo Ishiyama. An excellent example of Zao School style. This large, massive kokeshi figurine impresses with its eye-catching form and expression.
Height: 12.3\"
Weight: 1.6 lbs (706 g)

Kazuo Ishiyama

Kazuo Ishiyama was born onApril 28, 1929 in Ashizawa Village (present-day Yamagata City), Yamagata Prefin the family of carpenter Ishiyama Sangoro. During the war, he worked at theNissan Motors Co., Ltd. factory in Shinkoyasu, Yokohama City, and, afterreturning home in 1945, he learned woodworking under his brother Sanshiro andbegan carving kokeshi dolls. In July 1956, he became independent, and from around1959 worked at Sakubei Ito’s workshop in Takayu, Zao, as well as carved wood inYamadera (Minami-in). He ingeniously created kokeshi dolls with a body patternbased on the safflower, a specialty of Yamagata Prefecture, with smiling faceswith drooping eyes. When he worked as a craftsman in Zao Takayu, he soldkokeshi dolls in the Zao Takayu style under the name of Ito Sakubei, whichcaused confusion among collectors. After that, he also made kokeshi dolls inthe traditional Takayu style under his own name.

Ishiyama-san had an apprentice,Yasuko Shiratori, who started training in 2012. Ishiyama-san passed away on May12, 2017, at the age of 89.

Zao School of Kokeshi

At the end of the 19thcentury, Zao was a prosperous hot spring resort. It had four souvenirshops, which hired craftsmen to make wooden souvenirs for them. The shopscompeted with each other, creating an incentive for the craftsmen to develop distinctivestyles. As a result, Zao strain of kokeshi, which built on the tradition of theexisting Yamagata kokeshi, was developed by the craftsmen at theAtsumiOnsen, at the foot of Mt. Zao, on the Miyagi-Yamagata border. This onsen becamethe home to this family of traditional Kokeshi.

Zao dolls have many characteristicsof the Yamagata style. With oversized heads, large, expressive eyes, andthick-waists, they are often brightly painted in a variety of colorful motifs.The range of floral designs on Zao bodies includes the more standard stackedchrysanthemum petals, stylized cherry blossoms, peonies, and scattered spraysof small flowers. Zao Kokeshi have squeeze-in heads, which do not turn and showelements of the Togatta dolls. Facial features vary also, with the Atsumiversion having a long nose, much like the Hijiori and Tsuchiyu dolls, andhairstyles similar to the Yamagata.

For shipping outside of US, please inquire.

K364

Vintage Antique Art

Related Items:

Vintage Master KAZUO ISHIYAMA Kokeshi, Zao School, Signed, Japan - Large 12.3"

$55.00

---

Vintage Master Mechanic 9in Carpenters Smooth Wood Plane No. C4TT

$28.00

---

Vintage View-Master 3D Toy with 2/3 Michael Jackson Thriller Slides WORKS

$30.00

---

---