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Miss Kanagawa is by the artist Iwamura Shōkensai and her personal name is Kanagawa Kanako. Her kimono crest is the maru ni mitsuba aoi (encircled triple hollyhock).
Although records indicate that she was originally intended to be sent to the Warmer Oriental Art Museum in Eugene, Oregon, through archival photographs it has been determined that she was actually sent to the Idaho State Historical Society in Boise, Idaho where today she is known as Miss Nara. The doll in Eugene, OR is known as “Miss Fukuoka,” but confusedly she is the original Miss Gunma.
Due to lack of clear records, this is one of the more complicated mysteries, involving multiple mixed identities.
Ultimately, Committee records indicate that a “Miss Kanagawa” was finally sent to New Mexico, in May of 1930, making this one of the last dolls to be placed. Although now it is unclear as to which doll was actually sent. Upon arrival, she was originally placed with the YWCA in Albuquerque before being transferred to the State Capitol in Santa Fe, but no images of this doll are extant following her arrival. This doll, too, is unfortunately missing.
To further complicate matters press articles at the time indicate that she was presented to the children of New Mexico as “Miss Nagasaki.” This implies that the base for Miss Nagasaki may have accompanied this doll. Meanwhile, the original Miss Nagasaki was sent to the Science Museum in Rochester, New York, but with a base originally designed for Miss Aomori.