Ishii Michiko's eldest daughter, Ishii Yukie, has been appointed as the President and CEO of Atelier Michiko Corporation
The representative director of our company and founder of Atelier Michiko, doll artist Ishii Michiko, passed away on October 19, 2023, due to illness, and resigned from her position as representative director on the same day. We sincerely thank everyone for their kindness during her lifetime and respectfully announce this news. In accordance with the deceased's strong wishes, the funeral was held as a family ceremony. We deeply appreciate the kindness shown to her during her lifetime and respectfully inform you of this.
We would like to inform you that in March 2024, I, Ishii Yukie (formerly), the eldest daughter of Ishii Michiko, will be appointed as the representative director of Atelier Michiko. We apologize for the delay in announcing the passing of Ishii Michiko.
My mother once aspired to be a painter. Eventually, that transformed into three-dimensional expressions, and she began creating dolls. She wanted adults from the baby boomer generation, who lived during the high economic growth period, to remember their childhood, and to convey to children who looked exhausted like salarymen that their parents also had a childhood. The doll collection titled Showa no Kodomotachi has become popular enough to hold exhibitions throughout Japan.
Then, in the year 2000, at the turn of the millennium, my mother poured her emotions into creating the Mother and Child (Boshizo) sculpture for the mother she lost in childhood. Perhaps because I watched her as she seemed possessed in her quest to depict her deceased mother, I still feel that the Mother and Child sculpture holds a soul within.
In 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake shook Japan. Heartbroken by the loss of lives due to the tsunami and the disaster, she began creating dolls themed around Showa no Kodomotachi with the sea people as a tribute to the people in the Tohoku region, completing the theme over eight years. Just as she finished the photo book for the sea people, she was diagnosed with illness and passed away after battling for a year.
During her illness, I was able to talk with my mother about various things. I learned a lot about her thoughts on Showa no Kodomotachi. In her last moments, she said, “I will die saying thank you.” True to her words, she departed this world with a final “thank you.” I can’t help but wish that in heaven, she embraces her deceased mother and praises her by saying, “You did well.”
Unfortunately, I do not possess the talent for creating things and cannot make dolls. However, I inherited Atelier Michiko to preserve the world of Showa no Kodomotachi as a symbol of the Showa era, which my mother dedicated her life to creating.
There may be many shortcomings, but with everyone’s support, I am determined to do my best. I look forward to your continued support for Showa no Kodomotachi and Atelier Michiko Corporation
Atelier Michiko Corporation
President and CEO Ishii Yukie