Japanese Crafts

Researching and creating traditional crafts is an easy and fun way to learn about different cultures. Carp streamers and kokeshi dolls are two crafts I completed to compliment the Japanese unit from the Food is Elementary curriculum. I promise, you will have a great time making them!

Carp Streamers

Hanging koinobori, or carp streamers, is a treasured Japanese tradition. They can be seen flying from poles and rooftops in Japan from April to May 5th, the day celebrated as Children’s Day.

Materials:

- A carp or koi template - these are easy to find on the web
- Construction paper or poster board for the carp’s body
- Colorful yarn or string
- Markers for drawing the eye
- Origami paper, wrapping paper, or magazine paper for the carp’s scales
- Glitter and/or sequins
- Glue or Mod podge
- Crepe paper

Making it:

1. Using your template, trace and cut out your koinobori. Remember to make two, one for the front and one for the back.

2. Draw the carp’s eye. Make them nice and big!

3. Cut out your scales- I used origami paper. Smear some glue or mod podge on the carp’s body, and then lay down your scales. Start about an inch or so behind the eye. After placing gluing down my scales, I mod podged the top of them just to be sure they would stay in place. Glitter or sequins are a nice touch.

4. Add crepe paper streamers for the carp’s tail

5. After your scales and streamers have dried, you can either glue the front and back of your carp together. I punched holes on the top and bottom of my koinobori and tied them together with yarn. I like the effect.

6. Punch one or two holes at the carp’s mouth and use yarn or string to create a way to hang your koiobori.

Kokeshi Dolls

Kokeshi dolls are beautiful, easy to make, and provide a lot of bang for your crafting buck. Kokeshi are very spare in design. They are made from two pieces of wood, one for the body, and one for the head; kokeshi have no arms or legs. In Japan, Kokeshi are made from the wood of cherry and dogwood trees. Their faces and bodies are hand painted. I took a few liberties in the creation of my kokeshi dolls; I used origami and decorative washi papers for the bodies of my dolls, and a black marker for their eyes and noses.

Materials:

- Paint brushes
- Painter’s tape
- Wood glue
- Mod podge
- Decorative papers – origami, washi, etc.
- Hand saw
- Dowel rod for your kokeshi’s body – I used a dowel rod with a 1” diameter and cut it into varying lengths
- Wooden balls for your kokeshi’s head- the heads of kokeshis should be proportionately too large for their bodies

Making it:

1. Using wood glue, glue the kokeshi’s head to its body.

2. Look at the head and determine where you would like the doll’s face to be.

3. Paint the hair. You can draw it on with a pencil and fill it in with paint, or use painter’s tape if you want something really precise. Let the hair dry completely.

4. The paint that I used looked really flat after it had dried, so I coated it with my gloss-luster mod podge.

5. Paint or draw your kokeshi’s face. Their faces are super simple, I recommend finding some images on the internet for guidance and inspiration.

6. After the head/face is completely dry, measure the length and diameter of your doll’s body. Cut a garment from any beautiful piece of paper you have at hand; I happened to have a lot of origami paper, so that’s what I used.