Samurai, geisha and kid dolls clad in ornate kimono depict the culture and fashion of Japan hundreds of years ago.
Making them look as realistic as possible with attention paid to the details of the kimono patterns and accessories is where artisans can show off their techniques.
Just looking at them can be rather entertaining, but Viji Dhara, hailing from India, found a long-lasting hobby of making them, which she intends to keep for years to come.
Shortly before arriving in Japan in 2004, she didn't have much interest in Japanese dolls. But the chartered accountant turned IT professional and engineer was told by one of her friends while still in India, "Dolls are famous in Japan, so you should learn." One month after landing in Tokyo in 2004, she found herself knocking on the door of a doll class sensei (teacher).
"Little did I know that I was entering the mystical world of Japanese dolls as I stepped into my a sensei's home," Dhara said.
She didn't know how long she was going to live in Tokyo, and thus she enrolled at the school right away. "I could not stop. It's so interesting," said Dhara, who has made several hundred Japanese dolls.
Japanese dolls, consisting of a body, a head, legs and arms, are made of "toso" -- a solid but not so hard chunk of glued powdered wood.
Artisans buy a doll figure made of toso and do kimekomi, which consists of carving grooves 2 or 3 millimeters in width on the figure's surface. They then tuck fabric or washi paper into the grooves.
Kimekomi is the key technique of making Japanese dolls (formerly called kimekomi ningyo) as it determines the dolls' quality by how, with only a single layer of fabric, the overlaying complex patterns of traditional kimono are expressed.
In order to brush up these skills, Dhara joined the formal certification course in kimekomi doll technique under Kyugetsu Ningyo Gakuin in Tokyo's Taito Ward in 2006 and has been ascending in the ranks. She completed three initial levels of doll techniques and achieved the rank of kanban, which made her eligible to teach. But she didn't stop there and continued upward to so-called jun katoku level and is now in pursuit of the katoku rank.
Not all of her dolls, however, are based on historical Japanese figures. In a twist on the famous Disney story, she modelled Japanese-style dolls in a recreation of the world of Alice in Wonderland.
Dhara has had her work exhibited at various locations. In addition to Kyugetsu Ningyo Gakuin's annual student exhibition, she showcased her own doll exhibit in India in 2007 and even sold a few.
"I want to do it again when I have time," she said, adding that she sometimes makes dolls for her friends upon request. However, she does not yet intend to turn her hobby into a business.
"Now I am more interested in brushing up my techniques. If I start selling dolls, I may put aside my passion for enhancing my skills," Dhara said, adding that she may want to start selling them in the future.
Her focus on technique must be music to her sensei's ears.
"My sensei is very strict, but I benefit from her strictness," said Dhara, who aims to reach her sensei's level. "Her dolls look as if they get up and move like they are alive."
By working at doll making, Dhara also learned the basics and background of Japanese culture, which has helped her learn and appreciate the art better, she said.
Dhara aims to take her doll making to the next level. She wants to design her own dolls and also make dolls from wood, instead of toso. She has used wood in making many doll accessories, such as for a biwa string instrument accessory for one of her dolls, but never for an entire body.
"I can polish my technique more if I learn to make dolls from wood," she said.
Nurturing her inner artisanship has helped her realize how nature is connected.
"When I carve ears and paint eyes, I stare in awe at the symmetry that nature demands and when I make kataoki of a flower and its leaves, I am able to appreciate the color scheme and how difficult it is to match that beauty," she said. "I wonder how much we take nature for granted."
Photos courtesy of Viji Dhara
captions
Viji Dhara at the Kyugetsu Ningyo Gakuin exhibition in Taito Ward, Tokyo in November 2018
Certificates of Japanese doll-making ranks Viji Dhara acquired
Dolls made by Viji Dhara
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