Japanese dolls showcased in Plains

PLAINS - The Methodist Church in Plains played host to one of the leading experts in a unique art form on Friday. Alan Pate of St. Ignatius has been studying and working with ningyo or Japanese dolls for the better part of two decades.

Hosted by the local arts council, Pate spoke to an audience of about a dozen people about a specific genre of Japanese dolls. Pate’s presentation concerned dolls that were part of a pre-World War II program between Japan and the United States to foster goodwill and cooperation during years of strained relations leading up to the war.

In the late 1920s, relations between the two countries were tense due to the passing of the Immigration act of 1924 that limited the number of immigrants that could be admitted to the U.S. and according to Pate specifically targeted the Japanese.

An American entrepreneur and missionary in Japan named Sidney Gulick decided that in order to ease tensions between the U.S. and Japan, he would have to reach the younger generation. According to Pate, Gulick decided that if he could reach youths that had not yet formed opinions about each other, goodwill could be restored.

Knowing how important dolls were to Japanese culture and their appeal to children of many nationalities, Gulick decided to initiate a doll exchange program. By 1927, 12,739 dolls made in the U.S. were on their way to the hands of Japanese children. According to Pate, the idea behind sending so many was to increase the amount of exposure to children all across Japan.

A high-ranking member of Japanese nobility named Eiichi Shibusawa decided to respond by developing a similar program to build dolls and send them to the U.S. However, the Japanese effort was different.

Instead of sending thousands of mass-produced dolls, the best doll makers from across the country were commissioned to create 58 one-of-a-kind masterpieces. While the dolls sent from the U.S. were of a traditional size, the Japanese counterparts were almost three feet tall, intricately painted, adorned in elaborate custom made kimonos and came with many unique accessories.

The 58 dolls represented specific Japanese prefectures, cities and regions. The dolls with their intricate ornaments came to the U.S. in 1928 and were promptly sent all over the country. The dolls were featured in museums and libraries from coast to coast. According to Pate, this was where problems arose.

“The U.S. was not prepared for the amount of stuff that came with the dolls and the Japanese did not tell us how to tell what stuff went with what doll. Consequently things got confused,” said Pate.

Pate said that when he began to research the dolls, he discovered that often the furniture that accompanied the dolls was with the wrong ones. Pate also began to realize that often the names of specific dolls were incorrect. Pate began to attempt to identify the correct identity of the dolls and to reunite them with their proper belongings.

The painstaking process is still under way. Pate has spent over a decade tracking down dolls that were missing and sending dolls back to Japan for restoration often in the hands of descendants of the original artists.

“On average over the last six years, one doll a year has been recovered. Some have come up for auction. One was sold on eBay,” said Pate “A lot of the recovery effort is time and getting the message out about what these dolls are and what they represent. The missing dolls could still be out there.”

Pate said that 12 are still missing and one was destroyed in a hurricane in 1969. Pate has written a book about the dolls from the friendship exchange and is hoping that people who read the book may realize what they have and release them for restoration if necessary and display them for the public.