Language
Representing the city of Kobe, Miss Kobe is by Okamoto Menya Shojirō, artist name Menshō XII. Her personal name is unknown. Her kimono bears the kobe shishō (Kobe City seal).
During her early travels, Miss Kobe was damaged, and it was decided to place her in the private museum of Arthur Garfield Learned known as the Museum of Buddhist Architecture in Stamford, Connecticut. Following its closure in October, 1947 she was donated to the Stamford Museum.
Unfortunately, Miss Kobe is one of our missing dolls. But through archival images published in the Osaka Asahi Shinbun in September of 1929, we can accurately verify her identity as Miss Kobe and her original placement in Stamford.
The museum retains a personal sketch done by Arthur Garfield Learned of the doll highlighting her crest, and a cryptic notation referring to de-accession.
Curiously, a replacement kimono for Miss Kobe bearing the Kyoto City seal was for many years on another Friendship Doll, Miss Shizuoka in Kansas City, before that doll received a new replacement kimono more reflective of her identity as Miss Shizuoka.
Miss Japan and the six principal city dolls were all made in Kyoto by Menshō XII and are of an all wood, articulated (mitsuore) construction, rather than the soft-bodied ichimatsu form of the 41 other dolls representing the Japanese prefectures and overseas territorial holdings.