✳︎Title: "Record of the Ogaru Festival" ✳︎Author: James Kirkup British poet "James Kirkup" ✳︎Publisher: Hirosaki City Fukuro-machi Ichiryoku no Fue Mamehon no Kai ✳︎Publisher/Editor: Shigenobu Ran ✳︎Year of Publication: Showa 52 (1977) ✳︎Miniature Book Size: 9.5 x 7.5 cm ✳︎Number of Pages: 47p ✳︎Limited Edition: 250/191 ✳︎Condition: While there is some age-related yellowing, the book is in good condition, and the unique washi paper binding characteristic of miniature books remains intact. The "Ogaru Festival" described in this book is a peculiar festival devised by Tomiya Amae, a cultural figure from Sendai and a leading researcher of kokeshi dolls. ◉Tomiya Amae (1899–1984) He published Japan's first specialized book on kokeshi dolls, "Kokeshi Hako no Hanashi" (1928), and established the research framework of "kokeshi," "production areas," and "lineages." He also spearheaded the movement to standardize the name "kokeshi" nationwide. He is known as a key figure who elevated kokeshi from mere local toys to cultural assets. In addition, the rustic tavern "Robata" that he opened gained popularity for its unique style of customers gathering around an irori (sunken hearth), and it became the prototype for "Robata-yaki" (fireside grilling) that later spread throughout the country. The shop was decorated with a vast "kokeshi collection," becoming a salon-like space where cultural figures and artists gathered. His collection of traditional crafts was evaluated as a crossroads of folklore studies, laying the foundation for kokeshi research. On the other hand, the "Ogaru Festival" humorously and modernly revived the ancient local belief of "phallus worship." In a ritual praying for fertility and prosperity, tavern culture and Tohoku folklore overlapped. Every year on the 5th day of the old lunar New Year, people gathered at his "Robata," carved phallic wooden statues from wood chips, and offered them to the Doso-jin (roadside deities) in the vicinity. Afterward, they returned to the shop to hold a drinking party, and on their way home, they took the wood shavings as "amulets." The "Ogaru Festival" was not just a bizarre festival; it became so popular that participants formed a society called the "Ogaru-ko." Mr. Amae, who devised this unique festival, was truly a person worthy of being called a "man of taste." The miniature book "Record of the Ogaru Festival" is a valuable record that captures a part of his multifaceted personality, telling how his human charm and humor attracted so many people. Due to the rarity of the limited edition, this miniature book rarely appears on the market and is a highly valuable collection of this unusual festival. #BizarreFestival Tokyo Kokeshi Association #TraditionalKokeshi #LocalToys #Robata Heishiro Abe Tensho Sake Brewery