Kokeshi Matches by Kumi Hirasaka

Matches and matchbooks have an associated impression with the stuffy and elite – think smoke-filled rooms and bearded gentlemen discussing social politics. However, Osaka-based artist Hiromi Hirasaka has transformed matches into a friendly and hip medium (though you wouldn’t want your kids to be playing with fire). Kokeshi Matches, its namesake the wooden dolls originating from Tohoku, are matches with colorful heads and drawn faces. Whether the snout of the pig on a pink-tipped match or the angry daruma face suits your pleasure, these matches are a clever recognition of form inherent in the spherical heads of kokeshi dolls and their long, cylindrical bodies. But be wary: these little personalities bear a cartoonish cuteness that almost saves these matches from being used!

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