. Saga Folk Toys

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Saga Folk Art - 　佐賀県　



Famous for the pottery centers of
Karatsu, Imari and Arita.

Part of the former Hizen province (Hizen no Kuni 肥前国).

. Aritayaki 有田焼 Arita Pottery .

. Imariyaki 伊万里焼 Imari Pottery .

. Karatsuyaki　唐津焼　Karatsu Pottery .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
..................................................................................................................................................................
Kanzaki town 神崎　in Eastern Saga
Yanagawa town 柳川　　
There is also part of Kanzaki, Ozaki town in Fukuoka
. Fukuoka Folk Art - 福岡県　 .



- quote -
Ozaki Dolls are pottery dolls handed down in Osaki Nishibun area in Kanzaki-machi, Saga Pref.
This craft is one of the oldest pottery works in the prefecture. It is characterized by the warm feeling of clay, the humorous look, and colorful paintings. Ozaki Dolls originates in the dolls that the Mongolian warriors captured during the Mongol Invasions of Japan (in 1281) made to blow tunes and remembered their faraway homeland. They taught the technique to the local people and since then the pottery in this district has developed. The locally obtained clay is molded into dolls and then holes are made in blowing types. After that they are dried for two weeks, fired in the handmade kilns, painted white first, and finally colored with bright iwaenogu (Japanese dry pigments).
The bright red stands for the Mongolians’ blood, blue for peace, and yellow for nature.


鳩笛 テテップウ Teteppuu、

There are about 20 kinds of Ozaki Dolls including pigeon whistles, baby-sitter dolls, or sparrows. Among them a pigeon whistle, which is called “Tetteppu,” is the most popular souvenir.
- source : nippon-kichi.jp

. doonai Tenjin 堂内天神 Tenjin in a hall .


. Ozaki ningyoo 尾崎人形 clay dolls from Ozaki in Fukuoka .
close to 佐賀市、神埼郡吉野ヶ里町、三養基郡みやき町
Fukuoka 福岡県：久留米市、大川市、福岡市 -


..................................................................................................................................................................
Karatsu town 唐津　


source :　upp.so-net.ne.jp/u1cku/gangu5
Karatsu hikiyama 唐津曳山 festival floats


source : asahi-net.or.jp/~SA9S-HND

. Karatsu Okunchi 唐津おくんち Festival in Karatsu . - The ninth of the ninth month.

.............................................................................................................................................


Yamakasa ningyoo 山笠人形 Yamakasa festival float dolls



. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- quote -
Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival (Yamagasa) - Fukuoka
A resplendent and gallant summer festival with men racing through the streets while bearing 1-ton floats on their shoulders

Men carrying yamakasa, which are large 1-ton floats elaborately decorated for this festival, race through the streets of Hakata at full speed. The sight of the men concentrating all their energy into the floats captivates the hearts of the spectators who number as many as 1 million people.

The yamakasa floats come in two categories, namely, colorful floats for decorative purposes called kazariyama, and
floats to be carried in the festival known as kakiyama.
The decorated floats are set up on the street corners on July 1st for display, and you can take a look at them while strolling through the city. They are almost 10 meters tall, and are decorated with samurai or popular anime character dolls produced through the expertise of master Hakata Doll craftsmen. Formerly, men used to run about carrying these tall decorated floats, but because they would get stuck on electric cables and lights, it was decided that they were more suited for display purposes only. The floats exhibited at the Kushida-jinja Shrine can be viewed all year round.



The carried floats are borne by the men from the 10th and the festival culminates in excitement on the 15th. Early in the morning, at 4:59 on this final day of the festival, the first float sets off at the signal of beating drums. This is a contest in which men compete on the time taken to race along a 5 km course, over more or less 30 minutes; although speed is important, they are also required to maintain a graceful and heroic style as they run carrying the floats on their shoulders.

The interesting thing about this festival is that the citizens of Hakata refrain from eating cucumbers during the festival period. Even if they happen to find slices of cucumber in a bowl of salad, they will pick them out. This practice is said to derive from the fact that the pattern of the round cucumber slices resembles the emblem of the festive deity called Gion-sama enshrined in Kushida jinja 櫛田神社 Kushida Shrine. .
- source : www.jnto.go.jp -


The Hakata Gion Yamagasa festival is a religious ritual of Hakata's grand tutelary shrine, Kushida Shrine. It is concentrated on "Decoration Floats", Kazari Yamagasa, which are covered with beautiful Hakata dolls and set up in various places around the town.
As opposed to the elegant and feminine Kazari Yamagasa, the masculine "Kaki Yamagasa" is carried around the city from the 10th. The climax of the festival is the Oiyama race that starts from early morning on the 15th.

. Hakata no Gion matsuri 博多の祗園祭 Hakata Gion Festival.
Hakata matsuri 博多祭（はかたまつり） Hakata festival
..... yamagasa 山笠（やまがさ）floats
oi yamagasa 追山笠（おいやまがさ）race of the floats
.... oiyama 追山（おいやま）
- - - - - kigo for lage summer - - - - -

. oshioi no tebo お潮井のてぼ basket with sea sand .
amulet for the Gion Matsuri from Kushida Shrine, Fukuoka
- - and
Hakata Yamagasa dorei 山笠土鈴 clay bells with a hat

..............................................................................................................................................



kachikachi kuruma カチカチ車 birds on wheels

.......................................................................

. hiryuu 飛竜 flying dragon .
also on a festival float

.......................................................................

. Karatsu no koma 唐津の独楽 spinning tops .

..................................................................................................................................................................
Kashima town 鹿島

nogomi ningyoo のごみ人形 / 能古見 / 能古見人形 dolls from Nogomi
. . . . clay bells
... Inari koma 稲荷駒 horse from the fox shrine
祐徳稲荷
. Inari Jinja 稲荷神社　Fox Shrines and their amulets .

- quote -
Nogomi clay bells in the shape of Oriental Zodiac animals
are folk craft of Kashima City, Saga Pref. These bells were first made in Nogomi soon after the World War II. The founder of Nogomi bells was Teruji Suzuta, a dye artist. He had been thinking of making something that would make the postwar savage society more pleasant, and had an idea of designing clay bells because he had liked folk toys since young.

Initially it was his sideline, but unsatisfied with being engaged only in designing, he made a trial piece himself and at last opened “Nogomi Clay Bell Workshop”.
After his death, his son Shigeto followed his father’s footsteps and has been creating many dolls in different designs. His dolls have been taken up as the motifs of New Year’s stamps twice. The bright coloration fascinates a lot of collectors. The dolls in the shape of the new year’s Zodiac sign are made in every December, and they are very popular as the bringers of good luck.
- source : nippon-kichi.jp -



clay bell with a mouse
Made by Suzuta Teruji 鈴田照次. One of the 12 zodiac animals he makes. About 8 cm high.
Suzuta (1916 - 1981) was a cloth dyer.


The dolls made of clay are known as lucky charms that drive away evil spirits. They are characterized by round and simplified shapes and are colorfully painted.
source :　www.asobo-saga.jp

.......................................................................

men buryuu 面浮立（めんぶりゅう) - buryuu men 浮立面 masks for Buryu dance


reference : kotaro-saint.at.webry

- quote -
Menburyu dance - A tradition of Kashima
Menburyu is a traditional performing art which represents Saga Prefecture.
The leading players are dancers who wear grim demon masks and valiant Kakeuchi costumes, and are accompanied by gongs, drums, and flutes and the like in a furyu parade.
Because of its stirring character, one of the theories concerning its origin traces it to a battle that took place during the Warring States period (middle of the 15th century to the middle of the 16th century).
It has been dedicated from olden times in order to pray for a good harvest and to expel illnesses, mainly in the southwest area of Saga Prefecture.
This film introduces a brief description of the two representative Menburyu, each of which belongs to a different style which has been handed down in the Otonari area and the Hogaura area. Both of them have been designated Important Intangible Cultural Properties by the prefecture. In the film, the origin, props, roles, and the structure of the way it is dedicated are shown to differ between the two dances. It also urges the necessity of passing on the local traditional culture to the future by depicting the activities of handing down the dance from adults to children.
- source : bunkashisan.ne.jp/ -


Furyumen Mask　風流面

Throughout the prefecture Menburyu (masked dance) festivals are held. The main character is a goblin that exterminates evil spirits. A mask of the goblin is called a Furyumen mask.

- source : www.asobo-saga.jp

..................................................................................................................................................................
北方町 Kitagata






Kishimayama ittoobori 杵島山一刀彫り Kishimayama woodcarving
carved with one blade

Mostly colored in red and black on the plain wood. They are very simple, but quite charming.

. Inu 戌 /　犬　Dog toys and dolls .


..................................................................................................................................................................
Nishikawato village 西川登町


source :　www.japanartsandcrafts.com

Yumino ningyoo 弓野人形 Yumino dolls, Yumino clay dolls 弓野土人形
(Yano ningyoo) / 武雄市 Takeo town


source :　blogs.yahoo.co.jp/besshohidetoshi
子抱き holding a baby

Made at the beginning of the Meiji period, by Harada Kamejiro 原田亀次郎, a doll maker who had moved from Hakata.
Later 江口勇三郎 learned the craft from him and his family is now in the third generation.
The dolls are made very properly with a great deal of details.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



鶏乗り童子 child sitting on a rooster
by 古瀬与三郎　Furuse Yosaburo, about 10 cm high

. zoo 象乗り童子 boy riding an elephant .

.................................................................................

Nishikawato takezaiku 西川登竹細工 bamboo craft



It started around 1888 to give the local farmers an extra income and expanded soon into a trade of its own. There used to be more than 500 craftsmen shortly after WW II, but now there are only two left, because most of the farming tools are now made of different material.
佐賀県商工課（佐賀市城内1-1-59)
- reference and photos : pref.saga.lg.jp/web/shigoto -

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Saga Nishiki Textile　佐賀錦

- quote
There are a variety of Saga Nishiki products, such as handbags, wallets and sash buckles that fascinate people with their beautiful elegance.


It is said that a wife of the Lord of Kashima Nabeshima Clan struck upon this textile by seeing ceiling patterns when she was sick in bed during the late Edo period. Their elegant and gorgeous geometric patterns are woven with silk as the weft and the gold, silver and lacquer as the warp.
- source : www.asobo-saga.jp

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. Reference and Photos . Gangu Guide .
. Reference and Photos . Yama no Ie . Folk Toys .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. WASHOKU . Regional Dishes from Japan

MORE
. Saga Folk Toys - this BLOG .


. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011


[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
- #saga #kyushu #karatsu #arita #imari #hakata #fukuoka -
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::