LITMIR.BIZ

      Mitsuore wakagimi-himegimi (triple-jointed young prince and princess)

       Edo period, 19th century

       Height of prince 22 inches

       Height of princess 20 1/2 inches

       Rosen Collection

      Wakagimi Gosho-ningyō Group

      Woodblock print imagery from throughout the eighteenth century indicates that gosho-ningyō were popular playthings among the children of the upper classes. Unlike similar prints from the period depicting ningyō for the Hina-matsuri display, which largely show adults handling, arranging, and occupying themselves with the hina-ningyō, gosho-related prints show children excitedly sharing their pieces with each other. A typical example is shown in a print taken from the book Ehon kikugasane by Kitao Sekkōsai (1716-80), showing a group of young boys and girls playing inside a room. The sliding doors are pushed back to reveal the garden outside. A boy balances a figure mounted on a long pole atop his nose while a delighted younger boy dances excitedly at his feet. A group of young girls in the innermost part of the room occupy themselves with ningyō of various descriptions. One turns at the approach of another young girl entering the room, holding in her hands a large seated gosho-like figure dressed in a simple haragake bib, evidently intent on showing her doll to the other young girls. The atmosphere is informal, children simply at play with their dolls.

      Due to their expense and the culture that created them, gosho-ningyō were closely connected with the huge (nobility) and buke (samurai) classes, their clothing and attitudes more reflective of this segment of society than that of the merchant commoner. One sub- genre of gosho-ningyō that particularly reflects this class division is that of the wakagimi (young prince) gosho. This style of gosho-ningyō invariably depicts a standing young boy of either the huge or buke class. To indicate youth, the front locks are usually left in long bangs. The hair is then done in either the style of a court page (chigowa), with the hair gathered together at the top and terminating in two large loops, or in youthful variations of adult styles called wakashu-mage or warawa-mage. The young prince is attired in either a combination of the long pleated hakama trousers over a kosode kimono, or in the martial kamishimo. The kamishimo was the formal audience wear for most samurai of rank, consisting of the wide-shouldered kataginu paired with either matching (mizukamishimo) or contrasting (tsugi-kamishimo) pleated hakama over a kosode kimono. The materials ranged from silk to hemp. Family crests were frequently placed on the shoulders and back to aid in identification of the wearer.

      Structurally, the wakagimi gosho vary dramatically, ranging anywhere from ten inches to over twenty-five inches in height, with some extraordinary examples cresting thirty inches. Unlike the kurui (crazy) poses of some other standing gosho forms, the wakagime gosho reflect a stately dignity. They are depicted erect, with a small fan in their right hand. Their legs are placed together, with feet pointed forward. Generally, they are sexed. The upper arms frequently have a metal wire core surrounded by thickly padded chirimen silk crepe, plain weave silk, or occasionally soft leather. This allowed for the shifting of the arm position and enabled the clothing to be put on and taken off as desired.

      The wakagimi gosho appear to have been designed for the youth of the upper classes. Although they are generally considered to have largely been created as a play toy, it is possible that wakagimi gosho were also given as gifts in conjunction with the hakama-gi ceremony held in the child's fifth year. Part of the shichi-go-san (seven-five-three) celebrations which punctuated a child's progression from infancy to adulthood, the hakama-gi (Assumption of the Trousers) witnessed a child's shedding of more childish clothes and the wearing of adult hakama-style trousers for the first time. This event was traditionally celebrated with great pomp and was considered one of the more significant events in a child's life.

      Clothing for children was divided between that required for everyday use and for ceremonial occasions. The clothes were often not very different from those of adults, except for the size. Beginning at birth, a child wore what was referred to as ubugi. A different version was used for the ceremonies that immediately followed the birth as well as for the child's first visit to a shrine. As a child grew, he/she would then wear a hitotsumi until the age of three, the back decorated with a protective charm called a semamori, sometimes in the shape of the Seimei kikyo (pentagonal star developed by the tenth century yin/yang specialist Abe Seimei). From age three, a child adopted a more standard jurisode kimono for daily wear, with a seam in the back to allow for adjustments in size as the child grew. The hakama-gi originated in the Heian period during the tenth century and was held for both girls and boys of that age. As fashions changed over the centuries, however, particularly with the advent of the kosode kimono as the principal form of women's clothing during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the hakama-gi gradually became more narrowly viewed as a male rite.