About this Resource

📜 Resource Attribution & Accuracy Statement

This reference collection has been lovingly assembled over the past 15+ years through contributions from the Kokeshi collectors' community and my own personal archive. Many of the artisan signatures featured here have been sourced from images in the public domain or made available under Creative Commons licenses. Community members have also shared invaluable examples to expand and enrich this resource.

Whenever possible, signatures have been reviewed and validated by multiple individuals familiar with the field. However, please note:

⚠️ While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, absolute certainty in attribution is not always possible due to the following considerations:

Image provenance (original source and context)
Credibility of the source (museum archive, collector, or online publication)
Secondary validation materials (catalogs, exhibition records, artisan interviews)
Name translation complexities (many kanji have multiple readings and meanings)
Direct sourcing from artisans (when available, these are prioritized)
Naming conventions and signature practices

Some artisans may use a pseudonym, or gō (号), rather than their birth name.
Some artisan's may employ several hankos, and signature variations through-out their lifetime.
Names may change due to marriage, adoption, or business succession.
Signatures might reflect a combination of personal and workshop/studio names.
Authorized reproductions may bear distinct hanko (seals) granted specifically for secondary use, often by apprentices or licensed vendors.
Some works may not bare a signature at all but have the seal of an onsen ♨️ or distributing shop.

Your understanding and contributions are deeply appreciated as we continue to build a reliable and respectful archive honoring Kokeshi artisans past and present.

🧐 Note on Name Nuance

In Japanese, a single name may carry a wealth of meaning depending on the kanji used to write it. For example, the name “Yuji” can appear as 祐志, 裕志, or 祐司, each combining different characters that express ideas like help, abundance, will, or governance. Though they’re pronounced the same, the kanji reveal subtle insights into personal identity, family intention, or artistic lineage, adding quiet depth to the name itself these meanings are shared, when available, under each artisan’s bio page.