Japanese Dolls - Mitsuore

Collection — Container: 1

Identifier: 10-002-3

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The name, Mitsuore, means ‘three-fold’ and the doll was given this name because of the joints in the thighs, knees, and ankles, allowing the doll to be posed in various positions; the most notable being the typical Japanese way of kneeling on the floor and sitting on the heels. These dolls also facilitated the changing of clothes. Believed to be from just before 1800, mitsuore was one of the first steps leading to a shift in the way ningyō were viewed: away from felicitous objects of display towards dolls designed to be handled and manipulated. A revelation to doll makers in Europe in the late nineteenth century, their structure was quickly imitated for its soft and pliable effects. National Louis University Archives has the privilege of housing one of these rare dolls. Housed with 14/001.

Dates

Other: n.d.

Conditions Governing Use

This material has been photographed and these photos are available upon request. These artifacts do not leave the collection. Due to the fragility and age some of the items, they cannot be handled. Some of the items are incomplete and/or broken. National Louis University Archives allows access at their discretion.

Extent

1.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Related Materials

National-Louis University Archives and Special Collections houses many various artifacts. This collection represents only a portion of these artifacts. Other collections include the following:

Japanese dolls generally called ningyō (meaning doll, toy, and plaything), accessories accompanying the ningyō, East Indian dolls, Hispanic dolls, Asian peasant dolls mounted on stands, painted wood farm figures, several miscellaneous figurines, metal doll bookends, a complete wooden structure/house, an ivory boat on black stand, one pair beaded shoes, clay bowl set, a carved wood paddle, a large Japanese hagoita paddle or battledore and a fan. The ningyō in our collection are a combination of several different types of Japanese dolls: Hina-Ningyō, Anesama, Mitsuore, and Tsuchi ningyō. The Archives houses a set of Hina-ningyō for Hina-matsuri (dolls for the girl's day festival) including the stands, clothing, crowns, scepters, swords and musical instruments; this set comprises the majority of our Japanese ningyō. A few flat, folded paper dolls without facial features called Anesama are included as well. One Mitsuore doll with bendable joints and numerous Tsuchi ningyō (clay dolls).

Other Descriptive Information

References:

Baton, Lea. Identifying Japanese dolls: Notes on ningyō, (The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2000).

Pate, Alan Scott. Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyō, (Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2008).

Pate, Alan Scott. Ningyō: The Art of the Japanese Doll, photographs by Lynton Gardiner (Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2005).

Processing Information

Processing History Department: 014 Artifacts Collections: 001-009 07.02.2009 Rose Halpin

I processed the majority of artifacts at National-Louis University Archives and Special Collections in the manner described below. I created the following collections:

14/001 Japanese Dolls – Anesama 14/002 Japanese Dolls – Hina-Matsuri 14/003 Japanese Dolls – Mitsuore 14/004 Japanese Dolls – Tsuchi-Ningyō 14/005 Japanese Dolls – Miscellaneous 14/006 Tea House 14/007 Guatemalan Dolls 14/008 Indian Dolls 14/009 Dolls Miscellaneous

-I unpacked the items and took a general inventory.

-I began to individually index the items in detail. We decided after a short period of time that item level description was unnecessary and I discontinued the aforementioned indexing in favor of broad groupings according to type. These groupings are reflected in the collections listed above.

-I photographed the artifacts individually using a Nikon D60 camera. The default image format was .TIFF (Tagged Image File Format). I arranged a table, boxes and large pieces of felt in such a manner as to provide an appropriate background for the items being photographed.

-Mark uploaded the .TIFF files from the Nikon D60 and created a master file.

-I used Picasa Version 3 to create derivative copies in .jpeg format. .TIFF files contain a large amount of information and yield a high quality image. .TIFF files are also compatible with the Nikon software. I created the small, lower quality .jpeg images to enable easy access for the public. (Larger files take too long to load on the internet and are not always loadable.) Following best practices and ensuring software compatibility, I saved the .TIFF images in the master file.

-I renamed the .jpeg images (derivative copies) using a batch renaming program. While Picasa was meant to alter the file content and the batch renaming program was meant to only change the file name, the batch renaming program was capable of changing the file extension (name) from .TIFF to .jpeg and doing so without first creating derivative copies, those renamed files could be displayed as a .jpeg even though the file content had not been altered.

-In order to determine what the 9 collections listed above ought to be, I conducted research about the artifacts.

-In Archon, using the Collections Manager, I created the “Artifacts” (014) department and I determined individual collections (001-009). I gathered the appropriate information from my research and attached it to the collections.

-In Archon, after I created the Department and Collections with the correct information, I used the Digital Library Manager to create Digital Content entries. I used the same names and grouping for the Digital Content entries that I had used for the creation of the collections.

-I uploaded the renamed derivative .jpeg images to the appropriate Digital Content entries using the Digital Library Manager.

-Using the Digital Library Manager, I linked the complete Digital Content entries (information and images) to their corresponding collections.

-The .jpeg images and associated information are available to the general public via Archon. National-Louis University Archives and Special Collections retains the .TIFFs contained in the master file stored elsewhere.

-I grouped the artifacts according to collection, packaged them in new acid-free archival materials, labeled them appropriately and shelved the collections properly.