Artist Matsumoto Hiroko lives and works in Kanazawa City, one of Japan’s leading centers of traditional and contemporary art, both of which are reflected in the feline figures she creates out of clay and textiles. She is one of the younger members of a large, diverse community of Japanese doll-makers. And, like many famous ningyo (doll) artists of an older generation, she cleverly captures many traits of human beings in her playful animal figures, predominantly cats.

In an interview with Matsumoto Hiroko by Keiko, she explains that her doll-making initially grew out of her love for cats and the hours she spent watching them sleep, prowl and play.

Keiko: Is it difficult for you to humanize the behavior and manners of your cat dolls?
Hiroko: No. I don’t really think about it. I just create the images that come to me as I observe my cats. I also listen to music and look up at the ceiling, and when an idea comes to me I get excited about creating that image.

Keiko: Can you tell me something about your materials and your process?
Hiroko: I form the figures out of a clay made of fine stone particles. Then I air dry them, but I do not fire them. I paint them with water colors, gouache and acrylic paint, and then I varnish them.

Keiko: How long does it take you to complete a large doll?
Hiroko: It takes me about 5 days to create a figure and between five to seven days to paint it.

Keiko: I see that you also incorporate textiles in some of your work.
Hiroko: Yes, I like to use textiles that I have collected from the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa Periods. I think carefully about the right pattern for each figure, and then I cut the pieces to fit and then glue them.

When looking at Matsumoto Hiroko’s dolls, it is apparent that she is very fond of that most famous of Japanese folk icons, Maneki Nekko, the little white cat immortalized in the folk tale about the salvation of a small rural temple, and which today greets visitors and customers throughout Japan as a symbol of prosperity.