What is this wood doll thing with a poem on it?


Is this a Kokeshi doll or some other kind? and is the poem on the body
readable?

My dad got this out of a box his customer was giving away. They said it was
from Japan but I can't remember if he said they bought it as a souvenir or if
it was a gift. I know it was a long time ago. Over 30 years at least.

[![wood
girl](https://i.stack.imgur.com/njQ9t.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/njQ9t.jpg)
[![wood girl head
out](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NFhfo.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NFhfo.jpg)
[![wood
poem](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MQxup.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MQxup.jpg)




The doll is a kokeshi; I would not know how else it could be called.

The writing on it is clearly the first half (the first **_four_** lines below)
of the [tanka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanka) by naturalist poet
[若山牧水](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokusui_Wakayama). (Personally lovin'
that extremely long 「リ」 in the second line.)

[幾山河]{いくやまかわ}

こえさり

ゆかば

[淋]{さび}しさの

はてなむ[国]{くに}ぞ

けふも[旅]{たび}ゆく

Why just the first half? You might ask. That is because in Japanese culture,
things left unsaid have just as much or even more 'power' than the things that
are said. The reader is expected to finish the poem by himself in his heart,
appreciating the act of doing so.

I would rather leave the translation to one of the experts here, but here is
one by me for starters. **If you know anything about Japanese, the original
word order will need to be switched around completely for an English
translation**.

"I have passed so many mountains and rivers,

Wondering if I ever reach a country

Where loneliness ends,

Here I go hiking again today"

If you translate, it is impossible to say exactly what part of it the writing
on the kokeshi corresponds to because of the drastic change in the word order.
It is just "about the first half".

