Manami Okazaki

It's fine, but it really seemed like a collection of (brief) magazine articles. The text is 95% author-interviewing-artist, so you learn about their influences, or what they think is kawaii or cute, their musings about the culture, but no over-arching author to tie it all together or view the culture dispassionately.

In that sense it's a disappointment. But, it's chock full of attractive photographs of the aforementioned cute things, so I enjoyed that. On the whole, I vastly preferred the signage at the small exhibition at EPCOT on the culture of cute--so I'm surprised that an entire book on the subject can't beat that experience.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!… (plus d'informations)

This book is delightful. It gives a simple history of Kokeshi dolls and the different styles used across the Tohoku region of Japan. The bulk of the book is made up of interviews with koujin (craftsmen) who still make Kokeshi, and a lot is said about the tranquility of the craft, the healing properties of the dolls, and the need for the koujin to put aside any negative mood in order to make a good doll. The Tohoku region was badly affected by the 2011 tsunami and is still recovering. The author made the book as a testament to this unique craft and proceeds from the sales of the book are going to support the survivors of the disaster. I found the interviews and introductory history really interesting. I hadn't appreciated that Kokeshi are only made in Tohoku, or that they are closely linked with the onsen in the region. We visited Aomori last year and brought home two Tsugaru style Kokeshi as souvenirs. I feel I understand them more now. The book made me want to visit other places in the region as well.… (plus d'informations)