http://www.dokyoi.pref.hokkaido.jp/hk-obimu/
http://tokachi.com/kai/gallery/data/kekkan.htm

I planned to visit Obihiro on this day to see the exhibition. But I have been in poor health because of the cold, and gave up the travel. Instead, I took many pictures of Meika today.

A jpeg image file for this beautiful calendar is available from KAI Akemi's website.
http://www.tokachi.com/kai/

This calendar has pictures of Kai dolls. Meika's sister appears in the picture for January and February.

I have been looking at an influence of an animistic tendency of Japanese disposition on Japanese ball-jointed dolls. The former has been deeply rooted among Japanese. I’d like to define the animism as a world-view that considers that everything has its inherent dignity.

I believe Meika has her own dignity.

When I prepared this picture, I felt sure that Meika had inherited some characteristics from Bellmer Dolls.

Meika has movable extremities, hence she can take the weight off her feet.
She looks as if she was thinking about the existence of the soul. :-)

Photo Book "Ningyoutsuki"
Koitsukihime
Photographed by KATAOKA Sakichi

Shogakukan (Jun. 2006)

See details at Amazon.co.jp

This is the 4th photo book of Koitsukihime's works and a sister book of "Ningyouhime", which is her 1st book and remains a long-selling (since 1998) item.

Koitsukihime's attitude toward doll making indicates that she is an artisan rather than an artist. She is not interested in artistic self-expression, and shows consideration to her customers.

I also think she is a veritable genius at making dolls. Her dolls show sacred spirituality and fairyism simultaneously. It's almost like a miracle.

"Ningyoutsuki" specially-bound editions, ver. A and B See details at Amazon.co.jp and Chateau de Lune

Two kinds of specially-bound editions with a miniature figure of a Koitsukihime's doll also have been published.

"The Doll (Atlas Anti-classics S. 14)"
Hans Bellmer
Translated and Introduced by Malcolm Green

Atlas Press (Nov. 2005)

See details at Amazon.co.jp

This book is an English edition based exactly on Hans Bellmer's original German version, "Die Puppe" (Gerhardt Verlag, Berlin, 1962) which was comprised of three previously-published books: (1) "Die Puppe" (1934), (2) "Die Spiele der Puppe" (originally in French, 1949) and (3) "Die Anatomie des Bildes" (originally in French, 1957). The Gerhardt version was made up under the general editorship of Bellmer. But, It is rarely offered in markets because only 2000 copies were published. "The Doll" is then very valuable to those who research the art and thought of Hans Bellmer.

"IMAJYU-NO-KAIBOUGAKU" Hans Bellmer Translated by TANEMURA Suehiro and TAKIGUCHI Shuzo Kawade Shobo Shinsha (Oct. 1975) See details at Amazon.co.jp

"IMAJYU-NO-KAIBOUGAKU" ("The Anatomy of the Image"), the Japanese edition of "Die Puppe (1962)", has long been out of print, and the price of the old book is now very high. Many Japanese researchers and fans want the publisher to revive the publication of this book.

One of her faces may be a femme fatale who inherited the dark side of Earth Mother goddess.

"HANS BELLMER -Collection la Septieme Face du De-"
Sarane Alexandrian

Kawade Shobo Shinsha (Jun. 2006)

See details at Amazon.co.jp

This book is a revised and enlarged Japanese edition of "HANS BELLMER -le troisieme de la collection la Septieme Face du De-".

The original French edition published in 1971 by Editions Filipacchi is the best book for getting the art of Hans bellmer in perspective. But the old Japanese edition that was published in 1974 had a material fault. The Japanese editors changed the organization of the part of "Petit Traite de Morale". The change was a serious corruption.

I have been looking for the Japanese publisher to revert the organization back to the original. But my dream was not answered. The revision was a half-finished work.

KAI's dolls are bewitching, mysterious and sometimes awe-inspiring like an ancient goddess.

Meika is small and cute, but has similar attribute to large KAI dolls. Meika in this picture is like a statue of Venus or the Goddess of Kannon.

The name of the young girl is Ursula.
(She has been stored in Bellmer's memory.)
Bellmer locates himself in his sexual fantasy.
He sneaks in her body, superimposing himself and her,
and sticks his DESIRE out of her slit.

Alternatively, we can say also as follows.
The figure we are looking at is an androgyny
produced by the inversion of the portion of Bellmer's body
that should be out of Ursula's body
and the other portion that should be in her body.

(A translation from "Bellmer-Japan", my Japanese web site about Hans Bellmer and Japanese doll artists)

KAI Akemi is now in Paris. I'm looking forward to hearing her impressions of this exhibition.

Now I know Meika is 25cm tall. But I can't tell you about her measurements. ;-)

She has manicured nails. They are all smaller than 2x2 mm in size. This delicate molding by KAI Akemi is really marvelous.

Photo Book "Dolls"
HORI Yoshiko

KANZEN (Dec. 2005)

See details at Amazon.co.jp

This is the 4th photo book of HORI Yoshiko's works. It is really exquisite. HORI Yoshiko is one of the Japanese doll artists who began doll making through an encounter with Hans Bellmer's art. I think that her works show the defining characteristics of Japanese boll-jointed dolls, and that the photographers [*] fully figure out what they are.

HORI Yoshiko says that she hopes to give "KOKORO" (hearts and minds) to her dolls. Every her doll is more than a mere object.

[*] The photographers: HORI Yoshiko, UCHIKURA Shinichiro and SUGIYAMA Narumi.