We'll be using either Japan Post or DHL to ship your item. It will be shipped from Japan, so it will take some time to arrive. Please note that the prices of the items listed do not include taxes like duties. There may be scratches and dirt caused by age. If an item exceeds the specified size or weight, it may be shipped in multiple packages. ----- Mamoru Izu was born on March 21, 1925, in Shinhata, Ginzan, as the fourth son of Kotaro Izu. His older brother Sadao had learned woodturning from Ando Reitaro during a Yamagata woodturning training course held in Ginzan in the early 1920s, but died in 1938. Because of this, Mamoru largely taught himself woodturning after graduating from elementary school in 1940. He initially produced toys such as spinning tops and small wooden items, not kokeshi dolls. In 1943 he enlisted as a volunteer soldier and returned home in 1946. The following year he resumed woodturning with a motorized lathe, producing items such as bobbins and kettle knobs for wholesalers in Yamagata. After a fire in 1954 forced him to close his workshop, he rebuilt it in 1958 and resumed production. Encouraged by Nishida Minekichi and Shibata Hajime, he briefly made kokeshi around 1960, and from the mid-1960s began producing them again while running the Takimiya restaurant. He studied the works of his brother Sadao and later created his own designs. He passed away on May 17, 2019, at the age of 95 (traditional counting). Set of 2 29-31cm Total 782g (H1575)