Sakurai Kokeshi has produced handcrafted wooden kokeshi dolls for more than a century. These dolls originated in hot springs communities as toys for Tohoku children. Fifth-generation master Akihiro continues to produce traditional Naruko kokeshi while exploring what modern kokeshi can be with contemporary colors, patterns and shapes. This three-time All-Japan Kokeshi Festival Best Kokeshi Award winner has recently begun to introduce kokeshi to Europe, exhibiting at the Maison et Objet design fair in Paris and organizing a kokeshi-making exhibition in Milan.

The Sakurai Kokeshi store sells a number of kokeshi varieties, all painted by hand in the adjoining workshop. The Heritage Series are crafted in the style of Akihiro’s predecessors. The Naruko Series feature Naruko Onsen’s representative chrysanthemum flower motifs and facial style. The complex Hiina dolls are an innovative reimagining of hina-ningyo (court noble dolls) as kokeshi. Finally, the Reflections series sports modern colors and geometric patterns designed to complement contemporary European homes.

Visitors to Sakurai Kokeshi can even try their hand at painting their own kokeshi for ¥1,800 upon request.