THE FISH CLEANER and HIS WIFE

The figure is 9\" tall. It is 9\" wide at the knee and 6\" deep at the base. Very good condition.

Historical background of so-called Hakata Urasaki doll
During the Korean War (June 1950 - July 1953) ,many U.S. military personnel came to Japan, including soldiers. At the time, Japanese government had been controlled by U.S. forces as the results of WW II. Since Fukuoka is very near Korea, Fukuoka became major military logistic base for U.S. forces, and Hakata is name of town
in Fukuoka prefecture. These so-called Hakata Urasaki doll was made as souvenirs from Japan for U.S. military personnel, and so many, if not all, Hakata Urasaki doll would be in U.S.A.Why they are called as Hakata Urasaki doll ?
Two wholesalers of Hakata doll had mass-produced Hakata doll because U.S. military headquarters in Japan placed a large order for them. Urasaki is the name of one of two wholesalers, please view Tree Diagrams about Hakata doll, you will find name of Urasaki. Hakata Urasaki doll was sold at shops on military base of U.S. forces in Fukuoka. In other words, Hakata Urasaki doll was souvenirs from Japan for U.S. military personnel. Though it may be incorrect, another wholesaler\'s name which had been closed a long time ago would be Hakata Mimasu doll. (Owner of Urasaki doll store, Youichirou Urasaki, died in 2004 in car accident; his store was closed)Hakata Urasaki doll cease to be manufactured after 1955
Hakata dolls feature vivid body\'s color and face expression as if living. As mentioned later, Hakata urasaki doll is finished up by the surface-coating, which is a kind of waterproofing paints. (Please see below as for the reason). And because of that, Hakata Urasaki doll had no advantage over standard Hakata doll on vivid body colors. After end of Korean War, most of U.S. military personnel left Fukuoka, and Urasaki doll store had ceased to make so-called Hakata Urasaki doll, because most of The Japanese tend to prefer vivid colors than \"washable\".Why it\'s washable ?
Supposing that you handle Hakata doll with bare hands, Hakata doll will be easily soiled with finger marks, what is more important, in the event that you clean Hakata doll with wet towel, clothes painted on the surface will be damaged. The wholesalers mentioned above were afraid that U.S. military personnel do such an act , in other words, they feared the claim from U.S. military headquarters who were their clients. Because of that, they finished up Hakata Urasaki doll by coating the surface with a kind of waterproofing paints, and so, please note that Hakata Urasaki doll is not \"washable\" unlike
standard pottery dolls. Moreover you must consider how much time had passed. And so, it would be better for you that you don\'t clean Hakata urasaki doll. In short, please sell on \"As is base\" becausethere is problem of durability of waterproofing paints.Conclusion :
So-called Hakata Urasaki doll were mass-produced as souvenirs from Japan for U.S. military personnel as previously mentioned. But since they are not so-called \"tourist goods\" but products handcrafted with elaborately, we agree it\'s antiques. Though Japanese people never know Hakata Urasaki doll and never recognize them as antiques, Hakata Urasaki doll would be valuable.
However, we think that present-days Hakata dolls are more valuable than Hakata Usaki doll. After reading this web page, You will understand the reason. That is, Hakata Urasaki doll lacks vivid colors, which is lifeof Hakata doll.And so, there would be no Geisya girls doll as for Haklata Urasaki doll.

How they made a Hakata doll
Hakata doll, named after production region (Hakata-Ku, Fukuoka-city, Fukuoka prefecture) in Japan, features handcrafted process. Very roughly speaking, the handcrafting process consists of four process.
1.At first, craftsmen form a model with plaster.
2.Craftsmen jam clay into plaster\'s model and peel plaster in due course.
3.Craftsmen dry clay\'s doll with kiln.
(Firing temperature in kiln : it\'s range about 800-900, and so Hakata doll isn\'t pottery\'s doll but a kind of earthenware. In case of pottery, it\'s range about 1100-1300)
4.At the end of process, craftsmen paint clothes. (To make short of a long story, Hakata doll wear no Kimono, which is Japan\'s traditional dress.) And so, Hakata doll features exquisite facial expressions and the exquisite color scheme inspite of very inexpensive price. A major problem, Hakata dolls easily break. Please note that craftsman\'s name or workshop\'s name is essential factor as for Hakata doll because the division of labor between each workshop is impossible for handmade process. Please see below for more information.

History of the Hakata doll
The beginning of Hakata doll can be traced back to Munehichi Masaki and Seibei Nakanoko as the generally accepted opinion. - The former had created luxury items for Japan\'s liege lord and Buddhism temples (about A.D.1601- ), the latter began to create earthenware\'s doll as folkcrafts (about A.D.1818 - ). That is not to say that they directly were the originator of contemporary Hakata doll, because they didn\'t paint clothes on their works.

Though Hakata doll features distinctive molding and beautiful coloring, molding technique is near scrulpture and technique of coloring is similar to draw a picture. At the end of 19th century, a man whose name is Rokusaburo Shiramizu (1867-1927. Please see tree diagram below.) began to study oil paintings for coloring of dolls under instruction by Itusyo Yada who is oil painter, and it\'s surprising that he did learn anatomy for molding of Hakata doll as university auditor under Professor Koujirou Sakurai during two years at Kyushu university. (Though it is unbelievable , they could practice dissections on human bodies at kyushu university for their reference because Rokusaburo Shiramizu and his pupils did want to know structure of human body for molding of Hakata doll. )

Then, Rokusaburo Shiramizu and his pupils (e.g.Yoichi Kojima and Kihei Harada.) strove and made a approach to create excellent art works. In other words, they made a Model of Hakata doll just like sculptors ,and painted clothes as well as oil painters. The final objective for them was to bring Hakata doll close to art, and their doll had a great influence over other craftsmen of Hakata doll.

As the result of their efforts, Yoichi Kojima was awarded the gold prize in Paris world\'s exhibition held in 1925. Kihei Harada and Yoichi Oayu was awarded the silver prize in the same world fair. This was exactly how Hakata doll got worldwide fame, and Hakata doll thereafter was exported to many countries.

About stickers of associations:
Whether or not you bought genuine Hakata doll will be identified by confirming stickers of associations on the bottom of dolls. Supposing that you can not confirm stickers, the doll may be \"made in China\" or is doll handcrafted by outsider\'s craftsmen from Hakata doll\'s association except for antique and secondhand items.

Please note that there are no stickers on very inexpensive dolls even in genuine doll in many case.

Tree Diagram of craftsmen (workshop) for Hakata doll
Please note that the following tree diagram includes the deceased e.g. Seibei Nakanoko who were the progenitor of Hakata doll, Rokusaburo Shiramizu who were the practical originator. Probably you will be able to know most of Craftsmen\'s name (workshop).

Prime master craftsmen

The pupil

The pupil

The pupil

The pupil

Chiyozo Urasaki----------

Kaname Urasaki----------

Youichi Urasaki
(Rakuhakuyou)