"Kimiko-san, 77, was born into the Muraoka doll making family of Itabashi-ku, Tokyo. This is a craft that her artistic parents, Hatsutaro and Kane, carried on from her grandparents, Ginzo and Yoshi Komiya (on her mother’s side) and what has been passed on to her nephews, Kazuhiko and Fumihiko, the fourth generation. From a young girl, she remembers working in her parent’s work shop. For the first 15 years, she only watched her parents and older siblings work. Her father carried on the glass blowing tradition for his father, Tatsugoro. After her long apprenticeship, she practiced the traditional methods, but soon became restless to find her own artistic way: she broke with tradition."
from "The Artistry of Kimiko Koyanagi" by Norm Masaji Ibuki in Discover Nikkei December 2009
