Tanoyaku, the Toyoko Inn (one of the largest hotel chains in Japan) in-room entertainment magazine have taken an excerpt from Kokeshi, from Tohoku with Love. The profile they chose is Rei Yamaya, who is this adorable woman working out of Kuroishi in Aomori. She is one of the most sought after kokeshi makers with young collectors because her designs are so cute; they have betty hoop -esque eyes, wear berets, and have apple motifs on their chest. Her kokeshi are snapped up instantaneously by fans when there are Tokyo based kokeshi events.
I visited her last winter, I didn't meet her for the first edition of the book, but she is so popular, I had to go back again for the second edition. I super happy as there is a 1.3 million potential readership for this publication! Thanks as always Kazuhisa at Tanoyaku!
