Japan excels in many arts, among them is the art of doll making. The doll shown in
this page is a fine example of it. The author does not know very much about the doll.
It was purchased from a gentlemen who claimed to have traveled for the US Army all over
the South Pacific after the end of the war. In his travels he picked up several dolls,
this one being one of them.
The level of detail of the head and the helmet are quite good. The helmet is composed
of a series of plates attached by threads. this is very much the same way in which the real
life helmets were constructed. Notice how the front of the helmet uses the cherry blosom type
flowers whose use carried over to the japanese army during WWII.
The bow and sword are key elements of a Samurai warrior. The pictures above provide a close
look at both of them. The level of detail in the armor and arrows is very intricate.
The horse also displays a great deal of workmanship. The wire mesh used to sculpt the body and
head is begining to show up. The use of the color orange is very extensive in both the warrior and
the horse. This color was also employed heavily in the full size armor
|