A beautiful vintage Sōsaku Kokeshi (創作こけし) by Takahashi Hashime 髙橋はしめ, titled “Tanabata Star Festival” (七夕 / Tanabata). This example is the largest size produced for this design, giving the piece an especially strong sculptural presence.
The doll features a large rounded head with a serene, almost meditative expression, painted with fine closed eyes and restrained facial details. Red and black hair ornaments decorate the sides and crown, while the elongated natural-wood body serves as a canvas for a delicate Tanabata festival scene.
The front is painted with colorful bamboo branches and hanging tanzaku decorations, evoking the custom of writing wishes on strips of paper and tying them to bamboo during Tanabata. Lantern-like ornaments and flowing streamers add movement and color to the composition, while the overall palette remains soft and refined. Takahashi Hashime was born in 1918 and became a distinguished Sōsaku Kokeshi artist during the mid-to-late Shōwa era. Working from his Hashime Kōbō (はしめ工房) studio, he developed a recognizable style centered on natural wood tones, calm human expressions, and delicate decorative painting. His work often reflects the Japanese aesthetics of wabi-sabi, with its appreciation of simplicity and imperfection, and shibui, an understated elegance that grows richer with time.
This piece is particularly appealing for the way it combines one of Japan’s most poetic seasonal festivals with Hashime’s quiet, refined visual language. The generous scale allows the Tanabata decoration to unfold across the body like a miniature painted festival scene.
