ABOUT KIMEKOMI DOLLS

【Kimekomi Doll's history and how to make.】

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.

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.

Our working process begins at this point!!

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.

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.

This web site is selling Kimekomi Dolls kits, completed dolls, fabrics and tools. You can see a lot of Japanese Kimekomi Dolls here.

Please ask us if you need only body or face. I could be prepared them.

Q & A We will sell not only kits but also completed dolls, so please ask us if you are interested in the dolls.
When you are coming to the shop, please ask me first. I'll be there when it is possible.