Production method
There are various methods for creating Gosho dolls depending on the materials used, but the Ito family has continued to produce them using the "wood carving method" for generations, dating back to the time of the first Shogoro.
Although it is impossible to tell from the finished figure, the material used is paulownia wood that has been air-dried for over 30 years.
Furthermore, the luster of the white skin, which is the most distinctive feature of a Gosho doll, is a unique quality achieved by applying and polishing approximately 50 layers of gofun (a powder made from ground oyster shells) onto the intricately carved paulownia wood base.
Dolls created using this "wood carving method" must go through numerous stages, from rough carving to finishing, requiring nearly a year to complete.
Today, few doll makers continue to uphold the traditional "wood carving method" for Gosho dolls due to the time and effort involved; however, the Ito family continues to pass down this method unchanged to the present generation, as it is considered the best technique in the sense that the dolls can be "restored" even after 100 or 200 years.
Being wood-carved
Since the time of the first Shogoro, being carved from wood has been the most important aspect of the Ito family's gosho doll production.
Today, there are almost no doll makers who use this "wood-carving method," which takes about a year to complete a single doll. However, out of a long-standing commitment to the belief that "a doll received from the Imperial Family must not be something that could break if dropped," and because wooden dolls can still be "restored" even after a hundred or two hundred years, the Ito family continues to create their dolls using this technique to this day.
This one point will never change, no matter how much the times may evolve in the future.
Materials and Tools
The material used is paulownia wood that has been dried for over 30 years; after being felled, it is left to dry in the sun for 20 to 30 years. Only the strong sections that have withstood the elements are used.
Furthermore, because paulownia is soft and prone to warping or cracking if not carved by hand, no electric tools are used for the wood carving process.
Due to these properties, sculptors almost never use paulownia as a material; however, the Ito family has adopted it for generations since the Edo period, in consideration of its compatibility with the *gofun* (shell powder) that is applied in subsequent steps.
Rough carving
It takes about a year to create a Gosho doll, beginning with a process called rough carving.
Using various types of chisels, the fine expressions of the face are carved while the figure is still in the wooden stage. This is a vital process that can be considered the very foundation of the creation.
Superior carving
After rough carving, the doll is split in two, hollowed out, and left to dry for about three months before being glued back together to begin the final carving.
The fine carving is performed while carefully accounting for the thickness of the gofun (shell powder) layers to be applied later.
The positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth are determined at this stage and cannot be changed in any subsequent steps.
The final carving is a crucial process that determines the finished quality of the work.
Paper pasting
Once the doll has been carved, it undergoes a paper-lining process before the application of the gofun (shell powder) coating.
It is a modest task, but an indispensable step in the process.
The paper plays a vital role in blending and bonding the paulownia wood with the gofun.
For this paper-lining, we use traditional washi—specifically antique paper from old government ledgers or merchant account books—because of its high adhesive quality, excellent glue absorption, and compatibility with both paulownia and gofun.
Gofun coating
Once the papering is complete, the application of gofun begins.
Gofun is made by crushing the white interior of oyster shells into a fine powder.
This is mixed with animal glue and water, kneaded into a liquid, and then applied in numerous layers.
This gofun-making process is the most closely guarded secret of the Ito family.
The recipe is passed down only from parent to child, and it is forbidden to ever write it down.
The mixture is applied with a brush in about 30 layers, with time allowed for sun-drying in between.
Polish
Once the gofun coating is complete, the polishing process begins.
After being brushed onto the doll and dried in the sun approximately 30 times, the surface is not only textured from brush strokes, but also uneven because the wood grain has absorbed moisture from the gofun.
We patiently polish the surface to make it smooth once again.
Using sandpaper, we gradually move from coarser to finer grits: 40 → 80 → 120 → 240 → 400.
Top coat of gofun
Once the polishing process is complete, it is finally time for the final coat of gofun.
This is the final stage of the gofun application, and it is a crucial process.
The final coat of gofun is applied in approximately ten layers, using a blend of three different types.
Combined with the base coats, this brings the total to approximately forty layers.
We work with extreme caution to ensure no dust settles, applying the paint quickly to avoid leaving any brush marks.
Wipe
Once the final coat of gofun has been applied, the polishing process begins.
The doll maker breathes onto the doll and uses a cloth such as bleached cotton to polish it.
By repeating this polishing process three times, with intervals in between, a unique luster emerges.
It is said that in the Edo period, people would watch doll makers hold their creations close to their chests, breathing on them and polishing them, and remark that the doll makers were "breathing souls into their dolls."
Even without the use of glazes or special paints, a doll finished with carefully formulated layers of gofun will develop a deep luster through this polishing process.
Drawing faces
Once the final coat of gofun (shell powder) is applied and wiped, it is time to begin painting the face.
This is the most nerve-wracking stage of the process.
I start with the eyes.
Initially, I use thin sumi ink, gradually switching to darker ink.
Unlike people, even the slightest deviation of a single bristle or a variation in line thickness can drastically change a doll's expression.
After finishing the eyes, I move on to the eyebrows.
Using just the very tip of the brush, I apply thin ink repeatedly.
Since the eyebrows are the only feature whose placement is determined during this face-painting stage, I draw them carefully while balancing them with the eyes and mouth.
Finally, I use red to paint the mouth.
The moment that touch of red enters the world of black and white, it feels as if blood begins to course through the doll and life is breathed into it.
Hair styling, hair detailing, and dressing
After painting the face, the process moves on to attaching the hair and detailing it.
I decide whether to "attach hair," "paint hair," or "adorn the head with something" by looking at the overall atmosphere of the doll.
Just like people, each doll has its own individuality, and deciding how to finish it as a work of art is an important choice.
I carefully consider and decide while looking at each doll's features, observing the piece as a whole, and imagining the finished form.
Finally, it is time to dress the doll.
For this, too, I carefully consider and decide what color and type of clothing to use, while observing the atmosphere of the doll.
Once the clothing is attached, it is complete.
It takes about a year from the first step, "rough carving."
At the Ito household, we create dolls through this cycle.
