Thursday, August 29, 2013

Desert Kokeshi 14 砂漠のこけし14

Following our trip to the beach we went to Doha's beautiful Souk Waqif, and of course the Togatta kokeshi joined in the fun. Here are some images of that visit.
سلام 


Within the Souk is an area that sells nothing but birds.
Looking out at the parking lot and another Souk in Doha.

We went for dinner at a Moroccan restaurant in the Souk -- good food that was surprisingly Mediterranean.
My meal.
After dinner we went to a coffee shop for Middle Eastern sweets.

The magnificent Islamic Cultural Center, spiraling into the night sky.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Desert Kokeshi 13 砂漠のこけし13

One of the St. Regis hotels.

As you all have probably figured out, the Togatta kokeshi in my recent blogs is really a proxy for me and my on-going adventure in Qatar. In that sense it really is a "kokeshi adventure" in that the kokeshi is having an adventure in an exotic foreign country.

Last week the kokeshi and I had the chance to spend the day at a five-star luxury resort hotel called St. Regis on the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. It was pretty spectacular, and the view and amenities are as nice as anything on Guam or Hawaii, though the summer heat is much warmer.

The plan for the day was to eat brunch at the hotel, and then spend the day at the private beach. As you'll see in the photos below it was first class all the way, and having the kokeshi along made it that much more fun.

After the beach I took the kokeshi along to Souk Waqif where we had dinner. I'll write about in the next blog.

Brunch.
Going out to the pool and the beach.
The beach area.

I'm not sure if the beach is natural, but the sand was nice.
That's the Persian Gulf back there. If you were to get in a boat and go straight toward the horizon you would eventually end up in Iran.
After this day the kokeshi changed color somewhat, becoming a little darker. I guess  kokeshis can get tanned too. 
That's the new Doha skyline in the background. Many of the buildings are still under construction. 
We finished off the day with a refreshing local drink which was, as I recall, lemonade with mint. Delicious! 
The St. Regis at night. Absolutely gorgeous.
If you are planning on visiting Doha, you like the beach, and can afford it, I would highly recommend this hotel as an option. Here's the web site for more info: http://www.stregisdoha.com

سلام

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Desert Kokeshi 12 砂漠のこけし12

Our destination: Kashmir Handicrafts Emporium!
As mentioned in the previous blog, I had the chance to join a group for a visit to a rug shop in Doha, and of course the Togatta kokeshi was along for the ride. As it turned out this trip was a lot like a kokeshi adventure, but with rugs instead of kokeshis.

I have to admit that while I am a true kokeshi enthusiast, I appreciate hand-made objects of all kinds, especially Persian carpets. In my opinion Persian carpets are one of the world's great art forms, and since Qatar is very close to Iran one would expect to see them for sale. Indeed, that is the case, and when driving around the city one sees many large carpet stores with picture windows and beautiful interiors showing off their wares. Naturally that was the kind of shop I was expecting to see on this trip.

We soon arrived at Kashmir Handicrafts Emporium on Al Mergab Street after our delicious dinner at the Kabab King, and it was just a small two-story building in a strip mall next to a cell-phone dealer. Hmmm. Much different that those big, expensive-looking carpet shops I saw along the way. Moreover, the first floor was just Kashimiri handicrafts, many of which were very interesting, but where were the carpets? The leader of our group had been to the shop before and introduced us to Mr. Wajji Khan, a native of the Kashmir part of India. As it turned out Mr. Khan was going to be our guide that night through the world of not just Persian carpets, but also of the tribal carpet tradition of central Asia of which I knew nothing about but was eager to learn. After introductions we headed up a steep flight stairs and onto the second floor, and all I could say was "wow."

From the center of the carpet room looking back toward the stairs. 
The entire second floor was the carpet room, which was windowless and completely empty in the center. Along the walls were hundreds of carpets of all shapes and sizes, rolled up perfectly like giant colorful cigars. I could tell already that this was going to be very interesting.
Mr. Khan explaining to us about two magnificent tribal carpets from Afghanistan.
Mr. Khan is a good salesman, with a style completely different from what one would expect in the US or Japan. Before getting into selling carpets his goal was to educate us about handmade rugs in general (knot count, warp and weft, dyes), about the tribes and tribal rug tradition of Afghanistan where most of his carpets come from, and also about the Persian silk carpet tradition that, besides Iran, also developed in Kashmir during the Mughal Empire period in India. It was a very hands-on lecture that went on for about two hours, during which time we all learned a lot.
An upper shelf filled with tribals. A good spot for a kokeshi too.
A variety of tribals in different sizes.
The kokeshi is laying on the lower right corner of a carpet made by the Baloch tribe. You can see pieces of two other carpets in the upper and lower right.  
I have to say that before going into the shop I didn't think too much about tribal carpets, and in fact I was really hoping just to see the silk Persians that I knew would also be available. To me tribal rugs always looked overly geometric and simplistic, especially compared to their Persian sisters. However, Mr. Khan did a great job of dispelling my prejudices, for not only did I get to see the tremendous variety in the central Asian tradition, but I learned how they are made, how the wool is dyed from natural sources native to Afghanistan, how it's 99% a women's craft, and how these carpets are not made to be sold. Rather, they're a kind of furnishing in the nomadic peoples' tents and dwellings, rolled and unrolled when the occasion demands it, and only traded when necessary. Moreover, once the eye is trained one can discern the meaning of the motifs, and recognize styles, patterns and color that give away the carpet's origin. Overall, this was a real learning experience that I won't soon forget.

Ah, a beautiful silk Persian carpet handmade by Mr. Khan's family in Kashmir. This and the other silk carpets were stunning.
I still wanted to see the Persian carpets made by Mr. Khan's family in Kashmir, and I was not disappointed. All of them were magnificent, and some of them had knot counts of over 1,000 per square inch. The tribals, as I recall, were all in the 200-300 knots per square inch range, so simply imagine an old TV versus a new HDTV or a Retina display and dots per inch (dpi) -- quadrupling or quintupling the number of knots means a tremendous increase in the carpet's resolution and complexity.
Here's a nice Persian garden motif carpet. That puce you see is a natural dye made from tea.
Towards the end of the evening. You can see that the floor is now covered with silk Persian carpets, unfurled for us to inspect and walk on in our bare feet.
After our carpet lesson I decided not to purchase anything since I was too overwhelmed by the amazing variety I had seen. But now that I've had a few days to think about them and review my pictures I might have to go back one of these days and take another look. If so, the kokeshi will be coming along too.
At the end of our tour Mr. Khan posed with the kokeshi while standing on a bunch of silk Persian carpets. He noticed me taking pictures of the Togatta with the rugs throughout the evening and was curious what it might be. I explained a bit about the kokeshi tradition, so now someone in Qatar has that knowledge.
If you would like to learn more about this shop and the tribal and Persian carpets Mr. Khan and his cousin sell, here's a link to the web site: http://www.the-rugman.com/index.html. Of course the next time you're in Qatar, by all means stop by and see the rugs for yourself. And don't forget to bring a kokeshi as it would be quite welcome.
سلام 

Monday, August 19, 2013

Desert Kokeshi 11 砂漠のこけし11

The highway going into Doha.
On August 15th I brought the Togatta kokeshi along for a ride into Doha that started with dinner at a wonderful Middle Eastern (Lebanese?) restaurant called Kebab King, followed by a visit to a carpet shop. It was a really great trip! Here's a couple of photos going to the restaurant -- truly delicious food. I'll show the carpet shop in the next entry.
سلام
A building along the way.

The appetizer was scrumptious flat bread with hummus and other  nice things to eat with the bread.
Right behind the kokeshi is one of two huge plates of grilled meats (beef, chicken, and lamb) which was enough for five men.  The total cost of the meal, including bottles of water and a drink, was $17 US,  or about 1,300 yen. 
Next door to Kabab King was a bakery, so I got a pack of sweets (left), and a bag of Middle Eastern bread. The bag of bread was 1 Riyal, or 30 cents (25 yen)!


Monday, August 12, 2013

Japanese Kokeshi Web Sites 日本語のこけしウエブサイト

In case you have not yet done a web search in Japanese for "kokeshi" こけし here are some links to some interesting web sites (many of which I've hyperlinked in the past). Most are Japanese only, but a few have some English. There's an amazing kokeshi world out there on line, so click on the names below and then the links within each site, take a look at the pictures, and enjoy!

Clubs:
Tokyo Friends of Kokeshis Association
Miyagi Traditional Kokeshi Dolls Association (English available)
Aoba Kokeshi Association

Museums:
Naruko Kokeshi Museum
Tsugaru Kokeshi Kan
Zao Kokeshi Kan
Nishida Kinen Kan (Tsuchiyu, Fukushima Prefecture)
Miyagi-Zao Kokeshi Kan

Traditional Kokeshi Makers:
Iwashita Kokeshi (Naruko style)
Hiraga Kokeshi (Sakunami style)
Yajiro Kokeshi Village (Yajiro style)
Ganguan Kokeshi Shop (Sakunami style)
Naruko Onsen (Naruko style)
Tsuchiyu Onsen

Modern Kokeshi Makers:
Usaburo Kokeshi
Kokechi
Japan Kokeshi Craft Association

Shops and Events:
Kokeshi Pop (a bit outdated, but a nice site)
Shimanuki (Rakuten -- something like Amazon)
Shimanuki (same company as above, but kokeshis and other traditional crafts from Miyagi Prefecture)
Kokeshika
Kokeshi'en
My First Kokeshi
Zao Kokeshi Onsen
Kokeshi Tea Shop (Akiruno City, Tokyo)

Kokeshi Books and Publications:
Kokeshi Book
Kokeshi Jidai

Blogs (my translations of the titles):
Kokeshis and Me
Kokeshi Bokko
Kokeshi Biyo
Kokeshi 1,001 Nights
Tsugaru Kokeshi Kan