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Miss Aichi is by Hirata Gōyō II and her kimono crest is the kutsuwa (horse bit).
Little is known of Miss Aichi’s travels. Records indicate that she was placed at the Nashville Museum of Art located in the Carnegie Library in Nashville, Tennessee in October of 1928. But aside from a few newspaper articles describing her initial arrival, no subsequent record or trace has been found.
Miss Aichi was, however, the subject of extensive coverage during her sobetsukai going-away ceremonies in Aichi Prefecture in 1927, providing us with very clear images of the doll, her original kimono and accessories.
Through these images, it has been determined that the original Miss Aichi was actually placed in the Roger Williams Park Museum in Providence, Rhode Island where she was known as “Miss Nagano.”
While all of her accessories remained in the museum, this doll, too, was missing for many years before she resurfaced at auction in 2011, but missing her kimono.
Miss Nagano/Aichi was subsequently returned to Japan for conservation and a new vintage child’s kimono was provided for her. Miss Nagano/Aichi now resides in a private collection.
The fate of the doll originally sent to Nashville in October of 1928 and known as “Miss Aichi” remains a mystery.