Japanese Contemporary Stoneware Figure of Oshin

Dimensions: 3-1/2”h x 1-1/2” l x 1-1/2”w 

This expressive little figure was made by a child participating in a Children’s Hospital organization fundraiser in Osaka, Japan. It represents an Oshin, (Japanese baby sitter), with high shoulders wearing a traditional Edo period hairstyle, referred to as a "Box Shimada Mage", with loops of hair on the top, all held in place with an Oiran lacquered comb. She is dressed in a Kimono in a simulated painted stripe design in ocher and grey, with an orange apron referred to as a "Maedare" in the center and back portion of her robe. She is sitting on her heels in a traditional floor position with her hands on her knees. The most wonderful aspect is her simplified but detailed and expressive face. She is mounted a a small piece of wood to raise the figure from the surface as a means of respect, with a makers stamp on the back, the name of her Oshin, and the fundraising organization seal on the bottom.

Condition: Excellent, primitive and as originally crafted.

NOTE: Interesting Take-a-way

At the fundraising event, the teacher and overseer of the art/fundraising project said that she is gratified, along with the parents of children who learning about Japanese tradition from their elders, and particularly seen through fashion-mad kids throughout Japan. She is seeing that Japanese children take Japan’s traditions more seriously because Japan is famous for having one of the richest and most interesting cultures in the world, helping to shape Japan’s unique lifestyle and global perception.