ABOUT KIMEKOMI DOLLS

Kimekomi doll's history

• KIMEKOMI DOLLS…These dolls ware called KAMO-NINGYOU (KAMO-dolls) because the original dolls were made at the Kami Kamo shrine in Kyoto. Takahashi Tadashige made the first dolls, using pieces of willow tree wood shaped to resemble a body, cutting grooves in the dolls, and using glue to attach fabric scraps into the grooves of the body to create clothes. The process of making the Kimekomi dolls has evolved over time, and it became the present making style. The original use of carved willow wood has almost completely disappeared, and present doll makers now use a variety of processes to make the traditional grooved body. The concept of doll making by gluing fabric into the grooves of the body has been taken over.

• The process that our proud craftsman use, carrying on a long tradition in Japanese doll-making, is described below: The process of creating a KIMEKOMI DOLL.
• Kimekomi dolls are made by various craftsmen whose division of labor is making bodies, making heads, putting fabrics to the bodies, etc. Each craftsman does their work with pride.

The process of creating a KIMEKOMI DOLL

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• First, a craftsman creates a prototype using clay.
• Then, a Kimekomi mold is made from either the original prototype, or one created just for use in this process.
• Wooden clay, a form of wooden composite, is pasted to mold the body.
• It then hardens.

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• Once the body hardens, it is removed from its mold.
• The body is grooved so that fabrics are tucked in the groove.

PUTTING FABRIC PROSSES (How to Make Dolls Wear KIMONO)

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• We choose some fabrics and put together, and change in order, color or patterns. When the color and patterns are matched, we decide the fabrics for complete set or finished doll.

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• Our craftsmen sand the body surface smoothly and make holes where the head and hands will be attached.
• Glue is carefully applied to the body's groove line.
• Fabrics are draped and then tucked into the glue filled groove lines.
• Extra fabric is cut off, and all of the remaining fabric edges are slipped or glued into the groove line.
• Lastly, the head and hands are attached.
• Our KIMEKOMI doll is completed.

• Learn more about making dolls wear KIMONO!