Bugyotsuji Posted July 17, 2012 Author Report Posted July 17, 2012 Eric, I placed the 大の字 pad against the small of my back and tied it at the front with the long te-nugui and it worked fine. Maybe when people found their headband too hot, they took it off and tied it around their waist, at the back and out of sight. Might even have looked good! Leading to confusions for future generations! While we all struggle under this excessive heat, here is a puzzle for the membership (if I have not posted it before). What is this mystery object? (Edo? Yes...)
Baka Gaijin Posted July 17, 2012 Report Posted July 17, 2012 Morning Piers, It looks like a slip case for a transverse flute like a Shinobue or Nohkan, however the himo would have to be at the other end. https://www.mejiro-Japan.com/products_d ... hp?pID=371 This kind of slip case is possibly the sort of thing that Taira no Atsumori wore into battle along with his sword http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taira_no_Atsumori Cheers
Bugyotsuji Posted July 17, 2012 Author Report Posted July 17, 2012 Lovely links, Malcolm, but it is nothing so ethereal. My fault for not including the size of said object, which is boring now that you have elevated my soul! :lol: 19cm long (7 1/2") and one cm in external diameter. PS Interesting about Atsumori turning his back when swimming. I just learnt the other day that a sashimono/se-oi-bata was considered to be the soul of the samurai in battle. Although they are all nowadays depicted the same, each flag was very slightly different, allowing for individual identification. Once you turn your back, your family flag, your soul, will be besmirched forever. :|
Bugyotsuji Posted July 17, 2012 Author Report Posted July 17, 2012 30 people have looked but no bites. You will not bully me into revealing the answer just yet! Hint, it's for something vital in life. (For Ninja? No...) What are the most vital things for living creatures? What do F1 drivers and Tour de France riders have in common?
Bugyotsuji Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Posted July 18, 2012 OK, ya got me! It's a drinking 'straw', part of an Edo Period drink bottle and straw set. The diagonal cut at the end enables the drinker to get the last drops from the bottom corner, an advance on the modern drinking straw! Vessel height 6 1/4", 16 cm. Width 2 1/2", 6.5cm. Lacquered wooden stopper. Lacquered string binding at top. Iron loop for indigo-dyed string.
Brian Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 LOL. I had thought "straw" but had thought that too simple to post, so I left it. Occam again! Brian
Bugyotsuji Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Posted July 18, 2012 Occam is our man! Incidentally I had a phone call last night to say that in the first 5 days of the Evangelion event at Osafune, they have had over 5,000 visitors, which is double what they were estimating, and August, the busy season, hasn't even started yet.
Lorenzo Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 I think that event deserves to be described a little more on the forum... can we collect some info? I'm seeing on facebook every sort of thing; makie, horimono etc..
Bugyotsuji Posted July 19, 2012 Author Report Posted July 19, 2012 Furikake sprinkling to make the rice more palatable? :lol: Lorenzo, I have to go there on the 29th to help out with the "Try-on-a-katchu" Kitsuke Taiken event, but not sure if my schedule will allow a general sneak-shot separate run before then. When we went to sort through Menpo and Kawari-kabuto last week for something interesting to bring back for the Evangelion display, I managed to get quite a few shots on the side.
Lorenzo Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 I have to go there on the 29th to help out with the "Try-on-a-katchu" Kitsuke Taiken event Okayama, July 29th. Temperature 45°C (in the shadow) humidity 150% .... event? Or torture? :D
cabowen Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 All the years I lived in Japan, I only stayed for 1 summer. It was 1 summer too many.... While it would be hard to stomach an anime convention at a sword exhibit, I credit the event's planners with coming up with fresh ideas to garner interest among the general populace. Without this kind of thinking, interest in swords will be lost on the next generation...
Bugyotsuji Posted July 19, 2012 Author Report Posted July 19, 2012 Tell me about the heat. It reminds me of Massachussetts or New York State. At 8:20 this morning on the way to work I had the air-conditioning on full blast as the sweat was running down my face, and my clean shirt was already wet despite two early morning baths. On the 29th the changing room will be packed and the air conditioning will be overloaded and unable to cope. Those of our members with any sense have already thought of excuses not to be there to help out. This is very hard work with little reward. I have suggested taking donations from participants, to help with refugees from the Fukushima disaster area for example, and people smile and nod politely but nothing happens. Still the public seem to like it and the harder we work, the more requests for more opportunities come in. The only very small benefit, is that normally fastidious Japanese/Chinese/Korean girls are quite happy to have a bunch of stinky blokes pawing them all over as they strap on pieces of strange-smelling mediaeval armor/armour.
Bugyotsuji Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Posted July 22, 2012 What an amazing Sunday morning! Just goes to show that sometimes the early bird catches the worm. There is a small antiques market an hour's drive west of here and the earlier you can get there the better. The phone rang at 5:23 am, "Are you ready to go?" Well, having drunk some palm liquor from Myanmar, some 52% white Bai/Pai liquor from China, glasses of white and red wines, and shared a bottle of Dom P last night I struggled for the magic word. "Croak..." but into the car at 5:50. At 6.50 I parked up and started sorting through the pitches. There was a strange mood today. I wonder how much longer they can keep this event going? By 8:50 I was back on the thruway and by 9:40 am back home. My eventual haul was: Two Kutani sake tokkuri, not too old, with hand-painted scenes of the Sankin-kotai. Four Ukiyo-e in various states of dilapidation. Will need some TLC. A lacquer fan stand. Three wedge-shaped lacquered maki-e bamboo snack/sweet receptacles. An Edo-Period black lacquered Danyaku-bako ammunition box with working key! Lastly, a kind of windfall; I saw a beautiful flat red lacquer sake cup covered in gold and silver maki-e and asked how much it was. "Ooh, I can't sell you that on its own. You have to buy the sake kettle that goes with it and it's all in that box". Well, the price for the whole lot was far less than I was prepared to pay for the tiny dish on its own, so I said I would take it. Another dealer reached over and dropped a stunning little sake cup into the box just as the first dealer was wrapping the things for me! They kind of winked and smiled and I felt somehow honoured. But then I started wondering again. Do they sense that the end is near? Are they thanking me or something? Few customers with little money as the recession drags on...
estcrh Posted July 22, 2012 Report Posted July 22, 2012 There was a strange mood today. I wonder how much longer they can keep this event going? Do they sense that the end is near? Are they thanking me or something? Few customers with little money as the recession drags on... Piers, is it really that bad? We do not get any more "bad news" about Japan here, I think its forbidden, and we have our own "bad new" to hide as well. Any pictures of the ammo box?
Brian Posted July 22, 2012 Report Posted July 22, 2012 Piers, Do you still see swords and fittings at these markets? I remember when we went with you, there were plenty of sword related items, prices seemed to vary between fair to expensive, but there were lots of items. Brian
Bugyotsuji Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Posted July 22, 2012 Brian, yes, I remember being a little overawed by the way you strode up to dealers, drew their swords and examined them with aplomb! It seems that shops and dealers have been going out of business and those that remain have been forced to retrench and rethink their philosophy and policy on pricing and customer interaction. There are swords and fittings available though, at Ako especially, probably roughly the same amount as when we went before, or a little less. Ako and Himeji seem to be successful examples, although it is sad to hear the mutterings among some of the dealers. Here is today's box/chest, Eric. (I have taken some shots of another smaller one for comparison.) They have certain characteristics in common, but most people don't recognize them, which is why I was lucky enough to get this one. I spent a couple of hours on it this afternoon making it a little more presentable.
Bugyotsuji Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Posted July 24, 2012 As you may all know, historians in Japan (to borrow from J Wiki) generally divide the past into "一応のところ、（原始・）古代・中世・近世・近代（・現代）とする時代区分法 が歴史研究では広く受け入れられている" Genshi, Kodai, Chu-sei, Kinsei, Kindai and Gendai. Chusei is Kamakura, Muromachi, ie the first half of the feudal period. This present thread is called the Edo Period Corner, but perhaps Kinsei might be closer, the latter half (still feudal, Daimyo period) containing Azuchi and Momoyama and running up to the end of Edo and beginning of Meiji. Kindai seems to be the period from the end of Meiji up to and including WWII. Gendai is a generic present, post WWII, the naming of which may change depending on future events. Generally when trawling antique stalls, shops, or online, I try to aim for things from the Chusei/Kinsei feudal period. Occasionally in this thread objects from Kindai come up. The members seem to enjoy puzzles and Showa. This was given to me by a stall-holder the other day. It is from Kindai. What do you think it is?
Bugyotsuji Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Posted July 24, 2012 Hints. Thetford and Walmington-on-Sea.
Baka Gaijin Posted July 24, 2012 Report Posted July 24, 2012 Don't tell them your name P............ Cheers
Bugyotsuji Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Posted July 24, 2012 You are better at this than I am... :lol: OK, here are a couple more hints. You'll notice there's no air force in there. (No planes left?) Has anyone heard of Zaigo Gunjin, not to be confused with Zaigo Gunjin Byo, ie Legionnaire's Disease?
Baka Gaijin Posted July 24, 2012 Report Posted July 24, 2012 Ah, subtle..... Imperial Japanese ex servicemen's association? Cheers and just for the sheer beauty of the writing and timing:
Bugyotsuji Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Posted July 24, 2012 Yes, well done! and an excellent clip! :lol: Dad's Army, Japanese version. Ex-service, retired military, they had an association called Zaigo Gunjin Kai, to defend the Hondo in the event that the enemy might land on the actual shores of Japan. When the dealer told me what it was, I laughed and said there was a British comedy series about this. He looked rather shocked and hurt, so I quickly explained that there was no insult and that it was extremely popular in its time.
Bugyotsuji Posted July 25, 2012 Author Report Posted July 25, 2012 Whenever I am really busy and have no real time for anything else, I suddenly feel a strong urge to come and spend time on the NMB forum. Escapism? Addiction? Personality disorder? I opened a new tissue box yesterday and now there is a pile of about 50 used yellowing tissues beside me. It's in a terrible state, but this Ukiyo-e by Kikugawa Eizan has gradually yielded secrets that were hidden under two hundred years of yellow/brown dirt. I followed a process I once saw on NHK's Education channel about a team cleaning Ukiyo-e at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Now I've looked all over the internet, but cannot find an exact double of this print. It's entitled Fu-ryu, Jaku/Waka no san X(?), 風流 若ノ三人(?) signed Kikugawa Eizan and there are two very faint seal marks, one a circle and the other larger, a 7/8 moon shape with the bite on the left. I suspect it may be difficult to photograph successfully. This Eizan is in much worse condition than the other one I have which I used to think was bad. Here is the recent acquisition, but be warned! (The flash actually improves it!)
Bugyotsuji Posted July 25, 2012 Author Report Posted July 25, 2012 In contrast here is the other one, badly worm-eaten, but I have added (removable) coloured paperwork to the back pour tromper l'oeil. *The right foot of the little lantern was torn/eaten away so I drew an imaginary replacement, for example. Notice the small round seal is similar.
Baka Gaijin Posted July 25, 2012 Report Posted July 25, 2012 Good afternoon Piers, Could you make Image 4 from the top, second seal down (the scalloped edge circle) any clearer? Cheers
CSM101 Posted July 25, 2012 Report Posted July 25, 2012 Hi Malcolm Is this more useful? Greetings Uwe G.
Bugyotsuji Posted July 25, 2012 Author Report Posted July 25, 2012 Changed the lighting conditions, but there is very little to see there even with the naked eye. I think Uwe's is the best!!! Maybe no advance, but here we go: (Tell me which ones to erase later)
Bugyotsuji Posted July 26, 2012 Author Report Posted July 26, 2012 In the last shot it almost looks as if it is shaped like a bundogi weight, with the scallop cutaway on both sides?
Baka Gaijin Posted July 26, 2012 Report Posted July 26, 2012 Morning Piers, Thank you Uwe and Piers for the enhanced images, the Edo publishing house Maru-ya Tokuzō used a seal like a bundogi weight, but they only used it briefly between 1860-61. Maru-ya Tokuzō took over the business of Nishimura-ya Yohachi in March 1860. Nishimura-ya Yohachi was one of the biggest publishers and certainly published Eizan and his line (One of which was accused of being a pimp...) . The Nishimura-ya Yohachi publishing house were most active between 1708/10 to 1834. The most common Nishimura-ya Yohachi seal is a mitsu tomoe under a single peak like an upward chevron The Tempo reforms put an end to much of their output, particularly books in 1841. The print looks very like work produced in the 1805 period, one could speculate however, that the print was made in 1860-61 from the older blocks, or very late work by or under the name of Eizan who lived until 1867. That's about it for now. Cheers
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