Summary Of The Bunraku-Ningyo

Perhaps upon first impression, the Bunraku-ningyo of Yaoya Oshichi may be appreciated for its aesthetic beauty or even come across as unsettling, but a trained eye can respect the workmanship placed into the doll itself. Yaoya Oshichi’s own tragic story was ripped straight from the headlines, into various forms of media, during the Edo period. After a fire burned down her home, Oshichi and her family moves into a temple where she meets and falls in love with a temple page. Not before long Oshichi and her family return to the newly built house. Wanting to be reunited with her love, she decides naively, if fire brought them together, fire can bring them together once more and commits arson. Since arson is punishable by death, a sympathetic

The middle section in the front of Oshichi’s hair is puffed upwards and tied with a red ribbon, chinkoro, which delightfully balances down on both sides of the parting. On each end of the chinkoro are bira-bira kanzashi or dangling metal ornamentation strips which is meant to jingle pleasantly. Seven other bira-bira kanzashi are distributed amongst a flowered headdress which covers the top knot on the front. The five-petal flowers consist of colors such as red, white and pink, each with a golden center. The flowers’ shape are similar to Japan’s beloved cherry blossom and likely represent a stylized version of the natural flower. On the bunraku-ningyo’s right side, is a flower ball consisting of spikier petals compared to the front, alternating between magenta, a slight yellow, and white. Attached to the flower ball, is a red tassel that is only visible in the back, which almost reaches to the shoulders. A silk kanoko hair tie holds the top knot at the back. The kanoko is red and gold, created by shibori, a manual resist-dyeing technique originating from Japan, complementing the colors of the front flowers. Finally, the red and silver strips of paper known as miokuri stick out from underneath the bun. The paper is worn in two symmetrical sets of three, underneath each side of the bun in the back. It is interesting to note the style of Oshichi’s hair is more extravagant than what the actual girl would have worn, considering her status as a greengrocer’s daughter, but great for dramatic effect on