in black charcoal-based sumi ink over the white gofun, and his mouth is slightly open. He is constructed in the nodder style known as kubifuri, so that his head pivots back and forth on a pin driven through the neck. As he bobs his head, his tongue appears and disappears out of his open mouth.
His clothing is depicted in a Chinese style, with the design elements all executed in rich tones of red and green with gold highlights. He wears a high belt as well as a waist sash. His vest bears a cloud pattern floating over a repeat floral pattern, and the sleeves of his coat are decorated with roundels bearing the Chinese endless knot or "treasure knot" (takara-musubi). All of these design elements are executed in a raised moriage. Though he carries no particular attribute at his side, his hands are artfully executed, with the index finder of his right hand slightly extended as the hand itself rests on his raised knee.
Hadaka-Saga-ningyō
The hadaka-Saga or "naked" Saga-ningyō represent the earliest stages in the development of what are now called gosho-ningyō. Felt to be a derivative form of the highly prized Saga-ningyō, these pieces are distinctive and quite rare. Comparisons with the Saga might be somewhat confusing at first, for the Saga are much fuller figures sculpturally, typically fully clothed, with a minimal use of the signature white gofun. Like later ishō-ningyō (fashion dolls), the Saga also frequently portrayed well-dressed courtesans or entertainers, townsfolk and peddlers with their textiles elaborately portrayed with rich and vivid hues of painted and lacquered color. However, one category of Saga depicted karako (Chinese children) either seated or kneeling and holding on to an object such as a bird or a dog. As one begins to examine this category of Saga, the connections with latter-day gosho and the transitional hadaka-Saga become more readily apparent, both in the overall positions they assume as well as the frequent use of attributes.
Yet, the hadaka-Saga can be seen as a distinct, intermediary stop in the development between Saga and gosho. When compared with "overstuffed" gosha, with their three-part construction where head, body and arms, and legs form three relatively equal units, the arms, legs, and head size of a hadaka-Saga are much more proportionate and life-like Although the gosho form would ultimately prove more popular, the hadaka-Saga represented a Significant step in the development of Japanese ningyō.
Like the gosha, hadaka-Saga typically wear nothing but a simple haragake bib. Frequently, they are sexed, and exclusively male. The overall lack of clothing necessarily gave greater prominence to the gofun used to cover the rest of the body. Facially, they feature very narrow eyes with parallel arching upper and lower lids, diminutive noses and small mouths, a characteristic referred to as hikime kagihana (line eyes-dash nose). It is possible that the austere and brilliant white of the gofun contrasted with the jet black painted hair and the colorful embroidered red of the textiles, touched upon a simpler aesthetic note that may have accounted for its increased popularity as time went by.
Girl carrying a hadaka-Saga-ningyō, from Ehon kiku gasane, Kitao Sekkōsai (1716-80) woodblock printed book. Yoshitoku Doll Company
Hadaka-Saga-ningyō
Edo period, 18th century
Height 9 inches
Ayervais Collection
Although an exact timeline cannot be determined for the transition from Saga to hadaka-Saga to gosho, in broadest terms the seventeenth century belonged to the Saga, its earliest origins perhaps extending into the Keichō era (1596-1615), peaking during the mid- to late 1600s, and finally giving way to the hadaka-Saga in the early 1700s. The hadaka-Saga itself enjoyed a much shorter reign of popularity, fading in favor of the more classic gosho by the middle of the century The gosho form continues to be popular to this day, and in many respects is emblematic of the whole of Japanese ningyō, possessing an indefinable quality that continues to attract and compel some 300 years after their maturation.
The hadaka-Saga illustrated above is a delightful example, with classically long, attenuated legs and arms. His face is turned slightly upwards, gazing back at the viewer. His position is unusual, with his legs drawn up and his left arm resting on his knee as his hands point inward. In marked contrast to the Saga-ningyō, he is clothed only in a simple bib with kinran (gold-backed paper thread brocade) decorations of flowers. The belt and border are executed in chirimen (silk crepe). The minimal bib allows us to enjoy the brilliant white of the gofun covering his entire body. He is a sexed figure, indicating a tradition which was to continue in later periods, even after gosho forms began to be depicted fully clothed.
Haihai Gosho-ningyō
The aesthetic appeal elicited by children is referred to as way obi. It was strongly rooted in Heian-period literature where authors such as Lady Murasaki and Sei Shōnagon make frequent comment on the beauty of young children. Sei Shōnagon (b. 965) in her tenth-century memoir Makura no sōshi (The Pillow Book) spoke of many personal things, her likes and dislikes, and objects that evoked specific moods, both positive and negative. Frequently, they were recorded in the form of lists (monozukushi), such as "Depressing Things," "Things That Make One's Heart Beat Faster," or "Things That Cannot Be Compared." In a section entitled "Adorable Things," she praises the beauty created when "an extremely plump baby, who is about a year old, and has lovely white skin, comes crawling towards one, dressed in a long gauze robe of violet with the sleeves tucked up." Edo society, with its social turmoil, looked backed to the Heian period in a romanticized way, and the aesthetics expressed by Shōnagon and others seemed to have a strong resonance. Passages such as this appear to have been the ningyō artists' recipe book for the figures they created.
The form of the haihai (crawling baby) itself appears to have been drawn from the earlier form called the hōko. These were simple stuffed silk figures with a rudimentary face and attached real or silk fiber hair. Made to coincide with the birth of a new child, they were seen as protective talismans and kept close to the children, absorbing evil influences. One theory, promoted by Yamada Tokubei in his Nihon ningyō shi (History of Japanese Dolls) is that the auspicious and beneficial aspects of the hōko led them to be given as gifts, resulting in an increased sophistication of the form, moving from largely abstract to a more realistic depiction of a young, crawling baby. This theory posits the haihai as the original gosho from which all other gosho forms developed.
Hōko-ningyō, from Amagatsu otogihōko tsutsumamori ekitori, Hinuki Hachizaemon (fl. ca. 1821), Bunka 7 (1810), hand copy of a 17th-century
manuscript, 6 1/2 x 11 inches.
Author's Collection
Haihai gosho-ningyō
Edo period, 19th century
Length 5 inches
Ayervais Collection
Regardless of their origins, the haihai, like other gosho forms, were a popular and important gift within the Edo period. Court documents from the late Edo period indicate that haihai were given as gifts to young children both at New Year as well on their first festival (hatsu-sekku). Like hōko, they were frequently carried along in palanquins while traveling, to serve as a protective force. At home, they were often included in the Hina-matsuri display.
Like many ningyō forms, the popularity of the haihai led to a wide variety of shapes, all based on the simple theme of a crawling baby. Some wear the trailing silks described
