Ningyo Project: Gosho Doll

Ningyo project was conceived initially as a research project. One of the Super Rad Toys founders is an avid collector of Japanese folk art which is displayed in glass cases. We noticed the uncanny parallel between that nature of collecting and displaying/curating the collection to what has happened in the collectible, designer market over the last several years. People are displaying their collections in glass cases as well, treating the collectibles with the same care and the same manner as traditional art sculptures. From that moment we decided to create a research project which was mainly an in house introspection. “Who knows, maybe we’ll write a book”, we thought to ourselves. A book about ningyo and draw parallels between the art of doll making then and now. As aforementioned, when doing our research on the evolution and development of doll making we came across distinct parallels between the ningyos of Japan and the designer vinyl collectibles we see now. This parallel was even more visible when comparing ningyos to the platform projects we see today. Artisans, moldmakers and sculptors from fairly modern times to times dating back centuries ago would in fact create a universal form figure template which would be passed on to artists and collectors who would design these forms reflecting and projecting their political, spiritual and superstitious points of views, be it hard-lined or parodied.

As projects evolve and develop we decided to turn this project into the three dimensional form, making small print runs in an effort to retain the special nature of this project. So now, we have gone past the internal research and we would like to present ningyo project: gosho doll to all who believe in the heart and soul that is the ningyo project. This is not a platform project in the traditional sense. This is a study between the nature of artist, form and the collector. The idea behind it was whoever collected these pieces from the artists had a connection to that artist, embracing and championing the aesthetic/point of view of that artist. In a sense the ningyo project: gosho doll is also a sociological study. We’ve noticed that the difference between centuries past artist and the modern day artist is really no difference at all. The themes are relatively the same; hope, love, acceptance, spirituality, superstitions, political ideologies, radical, liberal, humor, etc. Ningyo project: gosho doll is the catalyst to present these themes. Really, the only differences in centuries past and today are technology and pop culture. We find this project to be unique and we hope that our audience does as well and hopefully we can understand better the communion between artist and collector. This project is for everyone, anyone who has a point of view and wants to express it through the ningyo form. We encourage everyone to make ningyo their soapbox! This is a study in interpretation as well as a study in traditional art and the application of the traditional into the world of contemporary art, keeping the heart and spirit of the form in tact. We look forward to seeing the results and we hope the ningyos that we are offering truly connect to all collectors.

Facts about ningyo project: gosho doll:

Nin=human and gyo=form. These are dolls that were not intended to be played with necessarily. These figures coincide with the long form of the word doll; i-dol. The ningyo’s function is to provoke, invoke, fear, revere and inspire. They are wearing an eboshi, or court cap, which accentuates their noble decent. The category of gosho doll that we decided to re-create is called Tachiko.

The doll we chose is a gosho doll, meaning from or of the Palace of Kyoto. The gosho doll is wearing a hat that represents it’s of noble descent or a member of the court, thus the hat is known as a court cap. The doll is carrying a rope which symbolized good luck. The figure would use the rope to pull in ships carrying treasure and other fortunes. Only 500 of each design. The gosho is 10” with three points of articulation. It is packaged in a unique window box, including spot UV coating for extra detail and a silver foil logo. Dolls retail for $80.00 USD.