Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi

Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi (artist name: Renka) (Budapest, 27 July 1975 – ) She was captivated by Japanese culture ever since. Her ambition was to go to Japan after graduation, but at the time of the regime change, she was unable to do so. She was awarded a Japanese art scholarship 2002-2004.

She was on maternity leave with her first child in 2009 when a sudden idea gave birth to her book “A Csodálatos Fababa Meséje” (The Story of the Miraculous Wooden Doll). In this book, written in both Japanese and Hungarian, she tells the story of Sakura, the Kokeshi doll and the adventures leading her to the imperial family.

Her dolls are smaller in size than the usual ones in Japan, where they are up to one meter high, since in Hungary there is no suitable wood material to make them. The dolls are made from different types of wood and the colour and surface of the chosen mizuki, maple or non-splintering Japanese cherry wood determines the final result. Japanese wood is easier to use for making kokeshis. These have high oil content and therefore dry out more slowly and do not crack. In the last few years, she has been buying raw material from Japan. She paints the dolls herself, but someone else does the wood turning and varnishing. Her dolls are all unique, with meticulously, finely carved faces and ornate kimonos.

The dolls, turned and carved from wood, embody the Japanese ideal of feminine beauty with their clean shapes: neat black hair, a charming, gentle white face and a body dressed in closed, decorated kimonos. Their decoration and painted patterns are often linked to the seasons. There is hardly a Japanese household without at least one kokeshi. In terms of shape, there are smaller and larger figures of girls, cylindrical and spherical, samurai, monks and many others with features specific to the region from where the kokeshi originates.

Besides being an aesthetic ornament, in Japanese culture the kokeshi has a much deeper meaning and function: it has also been used as a children's toy, a souvenir, a talisman with healing powers. Since the Middle Ages, every family in northern Japan has had at least one kokeshi as a full member of the family, giving protection from famine, fire and disease. It is therefore an integral part of the traditions and beliefs of the Japanese people In 2016, she was the first foreigner to compete in the 58th Japanese National Kokeshi Competition. She was the only foreigner to compete for the second time in the 58th Japanese National Kokeshi Competition, winning the grand prize in the creative category, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry's award for her work entitled "Dress-up Kokeshi - with a Wardrobe." In addition to the perfect execution of the winning work, her creativity also attracted the attention of the jury. In addition to the kokeshi doll, the piece, made of hornbeam, beech and ashwood, includes a wardrobe with 17 meticulously crafted accessories such as kimonos, hats, umbrellas, lanterns and fans. The idea that a kokeshi doll can be dressed in different outfits and accessories to suit the season and the occasion is quite unique. She was the first foreigner to get near to the closed cultural circle of Japanese Kokeshi making masters. She was welcomed and allowed closer to their professional knowledge and workshops techniques, which, according to Jennifer McDowell, an American kokeshi sociologist, as a woman, as a foreigner in a massively constructed masculine system, "can be seen as breaking through an anthropological wall."

At the 59th Japanese National Kokeshi Competition her kokeshi-rattle won the Ebina City Mayor's Award. Later that year, in Tokyo, her Taiko drum was awarded the Outstanding Artwork Award at the Creative Kokeshi Competition, and in the summer of 2018, her work titled “Crane and Turtle” won the Jury's Special Prize at the same competition. Aoki later asked her to finish her half-finished creations, dolls weighing about 100 kilograms.

She has exhibited her work and given lectures on the tradition and history of kokeshi at numerous exhibitions in Japan, Europe, the US and at home.

Other activities

She participated in the decorative painting of the Milarepa Meditation Centre in Zalaszántó. In Zangla Palace in India, in the Kőrösi Csoma Room,

She has been a member of the Hungary-Japan Friendship Society since 2000. She was also a member of the National Association of Art Teachers and InSEA (The International Society for Education Through Art).

Awards and honors 2025 Foreign Minister’s of Japan Commendations for FY 2025: The Foreign Minister’s Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in international fields, in order to acknowledge their contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries and areas. 2022 Yamagata City Mayor's Award, 64th Japan National Kokeshi Exhibition and Competition, Shiroishi Zao, Japan 2019 Special Award, Creative Kokeshi Competition, Tokyo, Japan 2019 Gunma Province Governor Award, 60th Japan National Kokeshi Exhibition and Competition, Shiroishi Zao, Japan 2018 The Jury's Special Prize, Creative Kokeshi Competition, Tokyo, Japan 2017 Award for Outstanding Work, Creative Kokeshi Competition, Tokyo-Ginza, Japan 2017 Ebina City Mayor's Award, 59th Japan National Kokeshi Exhibition and Competition, Shiroishi Zao, Japan 2016 Japan Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award (first in category, second overall), 58th Japan National Kokeshi Exhibition and Competition, Shiroishi Zao, Japan 2016-03 Product quality assessment of MANK, Petőfi Cultural Agency Ltd. (Hungarian Nonprofit Association for Arts and Crafts) on the classification in the highest quality applied arts category 2015 Mijagi Province Governor's Award (first foreign winner) 57th Japan National Kokesh Exhibition and Competition, Shiroishi Zao

Gallery

Published books Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi - Ibolya Rácz: Kokesi – A japán fababák világa (Kokeshi - The World of Japanese Fables), Napkút Kiadó, 2019, Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi : Rizómák, melyek a fény felé törnek (Rhizomes that break towards the light), Napkút Kiadó, 2012, Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi : A csodálatos fababa meséje (The Story of the Wonderful Wooden Doll), Napkút Kiadó, 2009, Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi - Kata Tasi : Mesél a világ (The World tells a Story), Magyar Napló Kiadó, 2006, Tandori Dezső Dezső Tandori - Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi, Kavicsok (Pebbles), Print-X, Budapest, 2004, Haiku translations by Dezső Tandori with pictures by Réka Tóth-Vásárhelyi