Vintage Kokeshi Collection Finds Home at JACCC
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Kitty Sankey with her mother’s collection of antique kokeshi dolls, now on display at the JACCC.
The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center was recently gifted a vintage collection of Japanese kokeshi dolls numbering close to 200 pieces from Kitty Sankey, a long-time community leader, past president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California, and an active leader in various civic organizations.
Kokeshi-collecting was a lifetime passion of her mother, Anita Mitsuko Sankey, who was born in Los Angeles but spent a considerable number of years living in Japan. Her family was interned during WWII; she met Kitty’s father after the war, although he had been drafted into the U.S. Army prior to Pearl Harbor. Kitty’s father had two tours of duty that brought the family to Okinawa. Both Kitty and her brother were born in Japan during this time.