This listing is for a vintage Japanese kokeshi doll.  These are traditional wooden dolls dating back to the late Edo period (early 1800s). Originally made as toys and souvenirs for visitors, they symbolize protection and good luck but have also become valued souvenirs representing visited temples and villages. 

Merging poetry and warrior imagery, this kokeshi is bursting with cultural pride and heroic themes. The most distinctive feature is the lower body, which showcases a vibrant samurai warrior in armor, with a flared helmet and robes in orange, blue, yellow, and white. Above features calligraphic script in flowing brushwork resembling a poem or inscription. The head has a stylized face with painted brows, red lips, and hair painted in black brushstrokes with a red tie.

7" x 2" - Medium Size

Kokeshi are often a simple cylindrical body, a round head that sometimes bobbles and a painted face or carved patterns with a serene expression. There are two styles - traditional (dento) and creative (shingata) which emerged after WWII to show more freedom in design, color, and themes. Click here to learn more about this wonderful Japanese folk art.