Oshie Hina Dolls
Meiji Period
14-21 cm tall x 14-21 cm wide
Cat. 255444
Part of the Boone Collection
© The Field Museum

The oshie technique, which originated in the Edo period (1603-1868), is still used today, but oshie-bina dolls are more rare, and few are still made today. This set of hina dolls is a complete set of 15 of these oshie-bina. Made of pieces of silk brocade, oshie pictures are created by cutting apart pieces of an original drawing that has been transferred onto heavy paper, cutting these same shapes out of brocades, and stuffing the space between the silk and the paper, assembling these pieces back into the original picture. The technique is often seen in wall pictures and on hagoita, elaborate versions of paddles used in the game of hanetsuki, a game similar to badminton, which are popular today as decorative pieces. Included in this complete set are the dairibina, or lord and lady, three ladies in waiting, five musicians, two guards, and three pages. The faces as well as the poses of the ladies in waiting are reminiscent of ukiyoe prints, which is common for oshie pictures.


(Commentary by Helena Stenberg)

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