好英语网启发任天堂灵感的日本小芥子娃娃
In a way, kokeshi dolls owe their existence to the snow. The iconic wooden dolls with their gentle, demure expressions hail from Japan’s mountainous northern region of Tohoku, an area currently known as the site of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
从某种意义上讲，小芥子娃娃的诞生都要拜大雪所赐。作为日本的一大标志，这种表情端庄而温和的木制玩偶源自日本的东北地区，那里现在更为人所知的是2011年地震和海啸的发生地。
However, around 200 years ago, this is where kokeshi dolls first took form, when woodcutters looking for work migrated from the south of the country to the thickly forested Tohoku region – nicknamed “Michinoku” (Back Roads) as it was so remote – bringing with them their woodworking techniques. For most of the year, they made a living creating tableware, using wood remnants to make toys for their children, fashioning koma (spinning tops), kendama (a cup and ball game) – and the kokeshi dolls. However, once winter came, it became too cold to work, and the woodcutters sought refuge in the area’s many onsen (natural hot springs).
然而，大约200年前，小芥子却率先在这里成型。当时，伐木工人从日本南部来到植被茂密的东北地区找工作——由于过于偏僻，日本人给东北地区起了个绰号叫"Michinoku"，意思是"乡村小路"——并带来了自己的木工手艺。他们多数时候都靠制作餐具为生，然后用下脚料为孩子们制作各种各样的玩具，有时尚的陀螺、劍玉（kendama）——还有小芥子（kokeshi）。然而，每到冬日，天气就会寒冷难耐，无法工作。此时，木工们就会到附近的温泉避寒。
任天堂，日本，玩偶，玩具，小芥子
“As winter progressed and it wasn’t possible to work in the mountains, [the woodcutters] soaked in the onsen to melt away the fatigue from working all summer. At that point, [in order to earn some money], they started selling to the tourists that arrived at the bathhouses,” explained Masafumi Abo, fifth-generation kokeshi master from the Tsugaru area in Aomori Prefecture.
"到了冬天就不可能在山区工作，木工们都泡在温泉里洗去夏日劳作带来的一身疲惫。到那时，（为了赚点钱）他们开始向来到浴室的游客出售纪念品。"青森县津轻市的第5代小芥子大师阿保正文（Masafumi Abo）说。
Soon, the dolls became intimately associated with onsen areas. Today, there are 11 areas – all in Tohoku – where traditional kokeshi are made. Each locale’s dolls are unique, reflecting the motifs and characteristics of the local people, history, plants and folklore. For example, dolls made in the Tsugaru area of Aomori are decorated with Ainu (one of Japan’s indigenous groups) patterns, while in Naruko Onsen in Miyagi, the dolls’ heads turn and squeak, echoing the name of their birthplace whose characters mean “crying child”.
很快，这些娃娃就成了温泉地区的象征。如今，全日本共有11个地方制作传统小芥子，全部都位于东北。每个地方的小芥子娃娃都很独特，上面的图案和特征反映了当地的人文、历史、植被和民俗。例如，津轻制作的小芥子娃娃都用阿伊努人（这是日本的一个原住民群体）的图案装饰，而宫城县鸣子温泉的娃娃头可以旋转，还能发出吱吱的声音，与它们诞生地的名字完美契合——直译过来的意思是"哭泣的孩子"。
The materials, too, differ depending on where the dolls are made, with the craftspeople using whatever wood was easily available. On the Pacific side of the region, it tends to be dogwood, which is hard and has a white colour, while near the Sea of Japan, painted maple, which is yellower in colour, is often used.
由于工匠们都喜欢就地取材，所以不同地方制作的娃娃使用的材料也有所差异。太平洋沿岸地区往往用山茱萸制作，这是一种质地坚硬的白色木头，而在靠近日本海的地方，通常会使用色彩偏黄的色木槭。
At first the dolls were just sold as souvenirs for children, but after a while they started to have a certain cachet among adults, who began to seek them out as collectors’ items. The first boom was in the Taisho period in the early 1900s, when they became popular with artists and novelists, while the second was in the 1960s and ‘70s. The buyers in both cases tended to be wealthy older men who collected the dolls as status symbols.
这些娃娃起初只是作为纪念品卖给儿童，但一段时间之后，逐渐受到成年人的青睐，他们甚至开始将其作为收藏品。第一股热潮始于20世纪初的大正时代，当时的小芥子在艺术家和小说家群体中流行开来。第二股热潮则发生在20世纪六七十年代。在这两股热潮中，买家往往都是富裕的老年人，他们把收集小芥子当做身份象征。
Akihiro Sakurai, a fifth-generation kokeshi master from the Naruko Onsen area of Miyagi Prefecture, came of age during the second wave, and he remembers how he got his start during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
鸣子温泉的第5代小芥子大师桜井昭寛（Akihiro Sakurai）是在第二股热潮期间长大的，他还记得自己是在1964年东京奥运会期间开始学习这项手艺的。
“I’ve been making kokeshi since middle school. At the time, there was a kokeshi-making club in school… and we sent 12,000 kokeshi to athletes and associates,” he said. “The club was the centre of my life and the kokeshi makers from our local area came and taught us, and we practiced like mad to make those kokeshi.”
"我从中学开始一直制作小芥子。学校里当时有一个小芥子制作俱乐部……我们给运动员和合作方寄去了1.2万个小芥子。"他说，"我的生活都以俱乐部为中心，我们的师傅都是当地的小芥子制作者，我们像疯了一样制作这些小芥子。"
Today, the kokeshi masters say they are experiencing a third revival – although this one has a different clientele.
如今，小芥子大师表示，他们正在经历第三次复兴——尽管这一次的客户有所不同。
Kokeshi’s simple, smooth shapes, bold colours and strong lines have given them a modernist pop appeal. In fact, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has said that Nintendo’s Mii avatars (the digital avatars on the Wii platform) are based on kokeshi, with their bulbous, oversized heads on thin, smooth bodies. Users can customize Miis to look like themselves or even celebrities.
小芥子简洁流畅的造型、大胆的色彩和有力的线条对喜爱现代艺术的人形成了吸引力。事实上，游戏设计师宫本茂就曾表示，任天堂的Mii虚拟角色（Wii平台上的数字人物）就是以小芥子为原型设计的——它们都有着浑圆的大头和柔弱而流畅的身躯。用户可以对Mii进行定制，使之更像自己，甚至明星。
It’s become popular – particularly among young women – to collect cute, modern-style kokeshi (both made in Tohoku and elsewhere) and share them through photos on social media. A quick Instagram search turns up cat-shaped dolls, holiday-themed kokeshi and tiny, felted kokeshi creations. Also, kokeshi shows have sprung up, such as the Kawaii [cute] Kokeshi Exhibition at the Yokohama Doll Museum in October and November, and the Nationwide Kokeshi Festival in Naruko Onsen in September. People are trying their hand at making the dolls at home, and there’s even something called kokeshi bokko, putting on puppet shows using kokeshi.
收藏现代风格的可爱小芥子（有的来自东北地区，有的则在其他地方制作）也已经蔚然成风，尤以年轻女性居多。他们会通过照片在社交媒体上分享自己的藏品。在Instagram上简单搜索一下，就会看到猫咪形状的娃娃、节日主题的小芥子以及用毡覆盖的小号小芥子。另外，小芥子展览也如雨后春笋般涌现，包括10月在横滨娃娃博物馆举行的"可爱小芥子展"，以及9月在鸣子温泉举行的"全国小芥子节"。人们也会在家里一试身手，尝试自己制作这种娃娃。现在甚至还出现了名为kokeshibokko的节目，使用小芥子来表演木偶剧。
“Recently, the number of young women has really increased. But they buy small ones – because their apartments aren’t very big. And kokeshi have entered pop culture, too. Girls are wearing dresses modelled after kokeshi,” said Shinji Onuma, the fifth-generation owner of Ryokan Onuma, a popular inn in Naruko Onsen that’s been in operation for more than 100 years. The inn sees its share of kokeshi tourists, who come both to buy the dolls and to try their hands at painting one, too.
"最近，年轻女性的人数确实增加了。她们都会购买小号小芥子——因为她们的房子都不太大。小芥子已经进入流行文化，女孩们会用类似小芥子的衣服来打扮自己。"大沼伸治（Shinji Onuma）说，他是旅館大沼（Ryokan Onuma）的第5代传人，这是鸣子温泉一家颇受欢迎的旅馆，至今已有100多年的历史。这家旅馆有很多游客都是冲着小芥子来的，他们既会直接购买这种娃娃，也会尝试亲自动手绘制一个。
Some kokeshi fans disparage the trendy kokeshi in favour of artisan-made traditional ones. But Akira Suzuki, a third generation kokeshi master based in the Sendai area of Miyagi Prefecture, who makes both cute and traditional dolls, doesn’t mind. “A cute kokeshi is the gateway doll. The more people learn about them, the more they like traditional kokeshi.”
有的小芥子爱好者对流行风格的作品不屑一顾，他们更偏爱匠人制作的传统小芥子。但宫城县仙台地区的第3代小芥子大师鈴木明（Akira Suzuki）对此并不在意，他同时制作可爱和传统两种风格的小芥子。"可爱风格的小芥子是一种引导人们入门的娃娃。人们越了解它们，就会越喜欢传统小芥子。"
And there’s always more to learn. It takes years to be able to competently make a kokeshi doll that is up to artisan standards.
这还是一门学无止境的手艺。想要制作一个能够达到匠人标准的小芥子，需要经过长达数年的练习。
“It’s the study of a lifetime. The more you do it, the more expansion in technique, or history,” said Yukinori Jinnohara, a kokeshi master from the Tsuchiyu Onsen area of Fukushima Prefecture. “Drawing a face is a lifetime’s study. Even after 40 years, we don’t have any faces that make us say, ‘my work here is done’. Craftspeople study their craft until they die. Until they die.”
"这需要付出一生的精力去学习。你做的越多，掌握的技术就越多，了解的历史也就越多。"福岛县土汤温泉地区的小芥子大师陣野原幸紀（Yukinori Jinnohara）说，"画脸也要用毕生的时间去学习。即便是经过了40年的磨炼，也没有任何一张娃娃脸能让我们说，'我的工作完成了。'匠人的学习要终其一生——活到老，学到老。"