Standing doll holding musical instrument. Left arm raised body turned to the right. Head molded from wood paste and dipped in Gofun. Painted black eyebrows and lower lashes, painted red bow shaped mouth. Slight blush on cheeks and eyelids. Inset glass eyes. Flat straight fiber hair shoulder length with a bun at the crown. The bun is tied with a red silk scarf and held in place with a gold and red silk cord tied in a bow. In front of the bun is a bifurcated hair ornament with silver and yellow flowers standing up-wards and small metal strips hanging down. Clothing is an outer kimono with very long sleeves. It is made of silk and gold metallic brocade with green, gold, red, black flowers on a geometric background. The right sleeve is off the shoulder exposing a kimono below. The under kimono is white silk brocade with red, gold, green, blue wave designs. Water designs are filled with tortoise shell motifs. Exposed sleeve and the hem of the kimono are edged with yellow and pink silk crepe. Kimono's are held in place with a wide black silk brocade obi which is decorated with orange and blue shishi (lion dolls) outlined in gold. It is tied with a long trailing bow in the back. Tucked into the top of the obi is an obi age made of pink and white kanoko shibori silk. There is a orange cord tied around the obi (obi jime) below this is also a yellow crepe silk sash tied in a bow at one side. The pink crepe lining is exposed at the front of the kimono where it falls open. The hands and feet are painted white wood. In the right hand the doll holds a shamesen stringed instrument. The handle and the sides are made of reddish brown lacquered wood. the body is painted white and it has three yellow strings extending from the bridge at the bottom of the instrument to three tuning pegs at the top of the handle. On the back is a sticker with the number "31 Y 25". The doll stands on a black lacquer wood platform. A piece of paper taped to the bottom shows a date from 1969 with cost and postage. (See donor File)

1998.131.002