The exhibition of Japanese Dolls is held by Japanese Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam from July 11 to August 10, 2020 at No. 24 Quang Trung Street, Hoan Kiems District, Hanoi.
While the exhibition
lasts 30 days, the following images would serve those who cannot attend
personally and also for my recording purposes.
Enjoy your viewing!!!
A note from the center:
The earliest form of
Japanese dolls is effigy, used in lucky rituals or apotropaic rituals. During
the Heian period (794-1185), a simple structured doll called Amagatsu was first
created, marking the transition from ritual doll to toy doll. The next generation
of the Amagatsu dolls is the Hoko dolls made by padded white coarse cloth. One
thing special about its hair is that it was made from real hair. The art of
decorating dolls flourished in Edo period (17th-19th
century), which is said to be one of the golden periods of Japanese doll
culture. Some dolls were elaborately designed and expensive. The most famous
dolls in Edo period is the Ichimatsu dolls with a beautiful face and glass
eyes.
Thus, the world of
Japanese dolls today has become extremely diverse. There are many types of
traditional dolls, such as Ichimatsu dolls, Hakata dolls, clay dolls, Noh play
dolls, Kabuki play dolls, etc.
One of the typical
examples that Japanese people decorate dolls at home today is to pray for the
children’s health and growth. On Hina Matsuri (Girl’s Day) on March 3, Japanese
families carry on the tradition of decorating Hina dolls (Girls’ Day dolls)
representing girls in the house. Similarly, on Tango no sekku (Boys’ Day),
present-day Kodomo no Hi (Children’s day) on May 5, they arrange Gogatsu dolls
(Boys’ Day Dolls) on the altar to wish the children to grow up quickly and
healthily.
For Japanese people,
enjoying dolls is like enjoying tea. Dolls are not regarded as interior
decoration, but a friend to confide in. Therefore, dolls represent the feelings
of their owner. Hence, it’s a must for doll makers to be able to humanize an
inanimate doll and convey the traditional cultural world into them. Doll
production in Japan is an authentic art field with specialization to every
step. 20-30 talented craftspeople specializing in each different stage such as
doll’s head, hair, facial features, body, hands, kimono, glass eyes, etc. are
required to work in months or years, just to create a perfect doll.
Indeed, these beautiful
dolls are messengers to help the world understand and appreciate the
traditional cultural values of Japan. We hope that through this exhibition the
viewers get better understanding of its various aspects and rich meanings.
Please enjoy the
exhibition and the messages from the beautiful dolls!
July 2020
The Japan Foundation
Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam"
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