Keisuke
The Story
Kyo-ningyo are luxurious Japanese dolls made around the city of Kyoto. Cherished by the daughters of noble families in the Heian period, they have been appreciated as gifts from visitors to Kyoto since the Edo period.
First generation craftsman Miyake Gensho was born in 1941 in Kyoto. Upon finishing junior high school in 1957, he was apprenticed under a Kyo-ningyo craftsman until going independent in 1967.
His son Keisuke became involved in the manufacture Kyo-ningyo from early days. After graduating from university, he started working at an interior design company, until quitting his job to begin studying in a doll shop in Tokyo. In 1994, Keisuke returned to Kyoto and began manufacturing Kyo-ningyo.
Influenced by the high level technique and samurai spirit inherent in the art of armor making, he developed the Samurai Armor Bag, a contemporary twist on Japanese tradition. Since making the first bag in 2013, Keisuke has been exhibiting them across the world, inspired by his strong desire to tell people overseas that Japanese traditional crafts are cool.
Due to the decrease in demand for dolls, the development and production of bags have created work for his work force. Despite not being engaged in mass production, they have been able to maintain a steady business, exclusive to Kyoto.
The Craft
Over the centuries of the Shogun period, the craft of armor wear evolved to become state of art, using the finest materials and a specific processing of braiding. Known as yoroikabuto, it was worn as a protective gear by the Samurai but was also seen as a symbol of the Bushido warrior code.
Keisuke used the very essence of making yoroikabuto in doll-making to revive it into a contemporary design. A special technique used for weaving called odoshi is interpreted into today’s Miyake Bags Collection, where reflective metal plates are individually woven onto the leather bag using the finest braid. Using the ancestral techniques of armor wear, the bags combine the finest materials of leather, metal plates and kumihimo braids into an East-meets-West design, to be used in our everyday life.
Studio tours are possible, which include the background and history of the armor, as well as stories of the development of dolls and Miyake bags.
Selected works
