menu

Collections

AB 56-4 c

Dolls

  • AB 73-1 Hairdressing doll (in box)
  • AB 82-30 and AB 82-31 Minzoku ningyo (front)
  • AB 739 a,b Tongue-Cut Sparrow dolls (front)
  • AB 62-2 s4 Geisha Doll
  • AB 56-4 c Yamabushi Doll (front)
  • 2010.9.1-2 Egg Dolls
  • 2009.102.1 Miharu ningyo (front)
  • AB 85-23 Kokeshi (front)
  • 2013.XX.30 a Kokeshi (front)
  • AB XX 177 a-b Kokeshi pair
  • AB 89-10 Izumeko
  • AB XX 170 Okagura Ningyo Set (wearing kitsune mask)
  • AB 75-2 Kintaro Doll
  • AB 85-31 Kokeshi (front)
  • AB 658 a Ichimatsu ningyo (front)
  • AB 86-8 a Doll (front)
  • AB 57-1 Fuji Musume Doll (front)
  • AB 56-2 Front
  • 2009.72.1.1 Isho-Ningyo Costume Doll (front)
  • AB 85-26 Kokeshi
  • AB 85-33 Kokeshi (front)
  • 2009.108.1 Kintaro Doll
  • 2009.132.1 Anesama Ningyo (front)
  • AB 85-14 Kokeshi (front)

Ningyo Did you know?

What is it?
Yamabushi Doll
What is it made of?
Fabric/Paper/Hair/Composition (dolls)
Where is it from?
Japan
When was it made?
1900-1956
Object ID
AB 56-4 c
Description

This figurine of a yamabushi (mountain priest) is made of composition (heads, hands, and feet) and cloth (rest of the body). Yamabushi are mountain hermits, believed to have supernatural powers. The figure is bald with side whiskers and wears the small black cap typical of a yamabushi. He also holds a blank paper scroll/banner in his right hand, recalling the instance in the Heike Monogatari (the legendary epic Tale of the Heike) in which the warrior Benkei, dressed as a yamabushi, reads from a scroll in order to help his lord Minamoto no Yoshitsune escape. The doll has red eyeliner painted on, indicating that it may represent a kabuki actor performing this role. 

Credit
Donated by Mr. Edmund Johnson, 1956.
AB 56-4 c Yamabushi Doll (front)