Costume doll - Isho Ningyo

A doll dressed in cloth clothing developed in the early Edo period. Like ukiyo-e prints, many of them were made to reflect the customs of the time, and were made to look like young men and courtesans. They were also called ukiyo-ningyo. The Yoshu-fushi, published in 1686 (the 3rd year of the Shokyo era), lists costumed dolls as souvenirs from Kyoto, and writes that they were wooden carvings of men, women, young and old, dressed in costumes. It is said that the name "costumed doll" was born from the fact that these wooden, painted dolls were dressed in silk cloth. Some dolls can be dressed in different clothes. Usually, the head, hands, and feet are carved from wood or paste, and finished with whitewash coloring, while the body is made from wood, straw, paper, etc., and the costume is partially worn on these dolls, so they are called "dressed dolls" and cannot be changed. By the mid-Edo period, production techniques had developed, and in addition to being enjoyed as pets at home, works of art were popular for their free expression, such as Chinese dolls that depicted foreign customs, and were used as gifts for feudal lords. They continued to be produced after the Meiji period, with Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nagoya being the main production areas, and those made in Kyoto are called Kyoto dolls. Today, dolls that are dressed in costumes and have a fixed pose are called costume dolls, and this includes dolls made using a new French-style production method that uses cloth masks. In 1986 (Showa 61), Noguchi Sonoo was designated a holder of the National Important Intangible Cultural Property for his work creating costume dolls.

[Ryosuke Saito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代初期から発達した裂地(きれじ)の衣装を着せた人形。浮世絵などと同じように、当時の風俗を映して、若衆、遊女などを人形化したものが多い。浮世人形ともよばれた。1686年（貞享3）刊の『雍州府志(ようしゅうふし)』には、京土産に衣装人形があげられており、これは木彫りで男女老少の形をつくり、衣装を着せたものと記している。木彫り彩色の人形に絹布を着せたので衣装人形の名が生まれたという。着せ替えのできるものもある。普通は頭や手足などの部分を木彫りかまたは練り物でつくり、胡粉(ごふん)彩色で仕上げ、胴体は木、藁(わら)、紙などでつくり、これに衣装を部分的に着付けたもので、「着付け人形」といい着せ替えはできない。江戸中期ごろには製作技法も発達し、家庭で愛玩(あいがん)されるほか、作品にも海外風俗を人形化した唐子(からこ)物などの自由な表現が喜ばれ、大名家の贈答品としても用いられた。明治以後も製作され、東京、京都、名古屋が主産地になっているが、京都産のものを京人形とよんでいる。現在では、衣装を着せポーズを固定させている人形を衣装人形の名でよんでおり、布製のマスクを用いたフランス人形式の新製法によるものも、これに含まれている。なお、1986年（昭和61）に、野口園生(そのお)が衣装人形の創作活動によって国の重要無形文化財保持者に指定された。

［斎藤良輔］

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