Older sister - Anesama

These paper dolls are made with crepe paper in a woman's hairstyle and dressed in chiyogami paper or other clothing. Some have no limbs and have omitted eyes and noses. Some use origami techniques to express the beauty of Japanese hairstyles, and place emphasis on the beauty of the "back view." In contrast to the relatively high-end dolls that are meant to be viewed, these handmade dolls have long been popular as everyday dolls for young girls to use in their house-making.

The Kotoshu, published in 1815 (Bunka 12), points out that this type of doll made from paper or grass was also played with in the Heian period. It became popular as a game for girls in the Edo period. It was also enjoyed as a handicraft by older women, and in addition to being handmade at home, it began to be sold as a commodity from around the end of the Edo period. The Morisada Manko, published in 1853 (Kaei 6), describes how older women made them at the time. A blank piece of paper is wrapped around the handle of a brush, compressed, and wrinkled to make a topknot. The handle is then removed and tied into a ring with a string, which becomes the sideburns and topknot. Another piece of blank paper is folded lengthwise and placed on the inside and outside of the ring at the knot of the string passed through the ring, and the bottom is tied with thread. It explains that the part above the knot of the string makes the bangs, and the part below makes the face. In Edo, the faces were not painted with eyes and noses, but in some regions, there were ones with painted faces, and ones that were just head dolls with no clothes. There are many types, and they are made from materials other than paper, such as cloth, grass, millet husks, earth, paste, or a combination of these. They are also called by various names, such as "Oyamahan" in Kyoto, "Bambasama" in Tottori, "Bonchiko" in the Hyogo Prefecture area, "Tachiko-san" in Kanazawa, and "Anekko" in the Tohoku region.

During the Edo period, paper doll making became popular among the ladies-in-waiting of the Ooku, and the techniques for making anesama in big cities such as Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka gradually spread to castle towns throughout the country. There used to be around 80 types of these local toys that could be seen at stalls during temple and shrine festivals or in local toy shops. There are well-known ones from various regions, such as Tokyo, Yokote (Akita Prefecture), Tottori, Matsue (Shimane Prefecture), and Uto (Kumamoto Prefecture), but today there are also new types with new poses that use origami techniques, and new types that use washi paper but have parts of the body inflated with cotton.

[Ryosuke Saito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

婦人の髪形を縮緬(ちりめん)紙でつくり、千代紙などの衣装を着せた紙人形。手足がなく目鼻も略したものがある。折り紙の技術を生かして日本髪の美しさを表現し、「後ろ姿」の美に重点を置いたものもある。鑑賞用の比較的高級な人形に対して、少女が日常のままごと遊びに使う手作りの人形として古くから親しまれた。

　1815年（文化12）刊の『骨董(こっとう)集』は、平安時代にも紙や草でつくったこの種の人形遊びのあったことを指摘している。江戸時代には女の子の遊びとして普及した。年長の女性の手芸としても楽しまれ、家庭での手作りのほか幕末ごろからは商品としても売られるようになった。1853年（嘉永6）刊の『守貞漫稿(もりさだまんこう)』には、当時の姉様の作り方を記している。白紙を筆の軸に巻いて押し縮め、しわをつけ縮緬紙にして髷(まげ)をつくる。次に軸を抜いてこよりで輪に結び、これを鬢(びん)と髱(たぼ)にする。輪に通したこよりの結び目のところに、別の白紙を縦長に折って輪の内外にあて、下のほうを糸で結ぶ。この糸の結び目から上の部分で前髪を、下の部分で顔をつくると解説してある。江戸では顔に目鼻を描かないが、地方によっては顔を描いたもの、首人形だけで衣装のないものもある。材料も紙以外に布、草、きびがら、土、練り物、あるいはそれらを組み合わせてつくるものなど種類が多い。その呼び名も、京都で「おやまはん」、鳥取で「ばんばさま」、兵庫県地方で「ぼんちこ」、金沢で「たちこさん」、東北地方で「あねっこ」などさまざまである。

　江戸時代、大奥の女中たちの間で紙人形作りが盛んになり、江戸、京都、大坂など大都会の姉様作りの技法が、しだいに全国の城下町にも伝えられていった。社寺の縁日の露店あるいは地方の玩具(がんぐ)店に郷土玩具としてみかけたものが、かつては全国で約80種もあったという。東京、横手（秋田県）、鳥取、松江（島根県）、宇土（熊本県）など各地産のものが知られているが、現在はさらに、折り紙の手法を用いた新しいポーズのものや、和紙を使いながら、体の一部を綿で膨らませたりした新型のものもみられる。

［斎藤良輔］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例