Lacquerware 漆器
I dedicate this entry to Pips as it's apparently her birthday today (and if I only had millions I'd give her one of these - but maybe only the sheath cause swords can be dangermouse) and I somehow missed that this week and her parcel is thus not in the post (a hoola-ha a hoola-ha a hooooola-ha!). I hear that is was very rainy in Adelaide today but I'm glad to hear that some of you still had the moxy in you to do your planned ride none-the-less!
If only I could have taken a good photo of the whole thing . . . but still I think you can get the idea of just how kick-arse it would be to come up againist something like this is really life. No wonder the Shogun's kept the country underthumb for so long! This one seems to be a rather unusual colour. Lacquerware is usually red and black with gold, though I did see some more a little like this much later on when I was in Shimane-ken at the Adachi Museum. Whilst this colour is a bit reminiscent of that horrid colour of mustard orange cars that were around about 5 years ago this sword sheath was way classy! Inlaid mother of pearl and all! It seems amazing to me the degree of skill and perfection craftsworkers of hundreds of years ago were able to attain! It makes the mind boggle - and we think machines are so great.
Speaking of levels of invention . . . Until not long ago, apparently Lacquerware was so synonymous with Japan, that like porcelain is called China, laquerware was called Japan. Maybe to people of an elder generation this is not news, but I thought it was interesting! Edifying . . you know!
Something that really caught my interest whilst travelling during the holidays was the different crests and insignias that you see around on the castles, apparel and domestic wares. I really love them and it's really interesting to trace the history of the different crests from place to place and person to person. I'd like to find out more but am not sure where to start looking, plus I've already got an itimidating workload at Uni this semester anyway!
This crest is Hollyhocks, from memory, that of the Shogun. As I said, these things tend to get a little convoluted in terms of who used what depending on their intermarriages and the like. At 姫路城 (ひめじじょう Himeji-jou Himeji Castle) there are about four different crests that feature from the various points in history when it was owned by or warded to different families. Sometimes I would get a bit confused with the different crests but I think they such great images. I wouldn't mind having one of those as my signature. Maybe we need to reinstitute the idea of family crests in the west - that'd so rule! (as someone I know is fond of saying)
I think that living in 東京 (Tokyo) and visiting it would be two very different experiences. We spent a lot of time in the inner city areas, and I get the feeling thet these places are not where the residents of Tokyo live out their daily lives. It's hard to talk about any concentrated 'city' (like you get in so many Australian cities) because the place is just so big that many areas in Tokyo seem to function like cities in and of themselves.
We spent at least the better part of a day and a half in the area of Ueno Park (上野公園). One smart thinker found out the Tokyo National Museum would be open late on friday night and so we headed there in the late afternoon and we rapted in the exhibition we saw. There was some expensive temporary thing on but we just went for the 150yen option of the permanent collection and spent the better part of 3 hours engrossed in their wonderful gallery with detailed English explanations. Definitely on my recommendation list for people going to Tokyo who have an interest in Japanese handicrafts and history.
Anyway, Tokyo rocked for its museums and the like even if the Ukiyoe Museum (浮世絵美術館 うきよえびじゅつかん) was shut.
Now it's almost time for me to be going out and I've spent most of the afternoon doing nothing much that has resulted in any visible product - except one tidyish cupboard and a balcony full of washing. I'm not sure that this will make much sense, but that's about your blooming lot for this week - use it for manure if it's that bad . . .
Tomorrow I'm going out with Ryoko which should be fun - hopefully get some new clothes so I don't feel like such a dag now that there are people around who feel like going out on the weekends and the like.
We have a holiday Monday which I should try to spend catching up on study - 頑張ります！
If only I could have taken a good photo of the whole thing . . . but still I think you can get the idea of just how kick-arse it would be to come up againist something like this is really life. No wonder the Shogun's kept the country underthumb for so long! This one seems to be a rather unusual colour. Lacquerware is usually red and black with gold, though I did see some more a little like this much later on when I was in Shimane-ken at the Adachi Museum. Whilst this colour is a bit reminiscent of that horrid colour of mustard orange cars that were around about 5 years ago this sword sheath was way classy! Inlaid mother of pearl and all! It seems amazing to me the degree of skill and perfection craftsworkers of hundreds of years ago were able to attain! It makes the mind boggle - and we think machines are so great.
Speaking of levels of invention . . . Until not long ago, apparently Lacquerware was so synonymous with Japan, that like porcelain is called China, laquerware was called Japan. Maybe to people of an elder generation this is not news, but I thought it was interesting! Edifying . . you know!
Something that really caught my interest whilst travelling during the holidays was the different crests and insignias that you see around on the castles, apparel and domestic wares. I really love them and it's really interesting to trace the history of the different crests from place to place and person to person. I'd like to find out more but am not sure where to start looking, plus I've already got an itimidating workload at Uni this semester anyway!
This crest is Hollyhocks, from memory, that of the Shogun. As I said, these things tend to get a little convoluted in terms of who used what depending on their intermarriages and the like. At 姫路城 (ひめじじょう Himeji-jou Himeji Castle) there are about four different crests that feature from the various points in history when it was owned by or warded to different families. Sometimes I would get a bit confused with the different crests but I think they such great images. I wouldn't mind having one of those as my signature. Maybe we need to reinstitute the idea of family crests in the west - that'd so rule! (as someone I know is fond of saying)
I think that living in 東京 (Tokyo) and visiting it would be two very different experiences. We spent a lot of time in the inner city areas, and I get the feeling thet these places are not where the residents of Tokyo live out their daily lives. It's hard to talk about any concentrated 'city' (like you get in so many Australian cities) because the place is just so big that many areas in Tokyo seem to function like cities in and of themselves.
We spent at least the better part of a day and a half in the area of Ueno Park (上野公園). One smart thinker found out the Tokyo National Museum would be open late on friday night and so we headed there in the late afternoon and we rapted in the exhibition we saw. There was some expensive temporary thing on but we just went for the 150yen option of the permanent collection and spent the better part of 3 hours engrossed in their wonderful gallery with detailed English explanations. Definitely on my recommendation list for people going to Tokyo who have an interest in Japanese handicrafts and history.
Anyway, Tokyo rocked for its museums and the like even if the Ukiyoe Museum (浮世絵美術館 うきよえびじゅつかん) was shut.
Now it's almost time for me to be going out and I've spent most of the afternoon doing nothing much that has resulted in any visible product - except one tidyish cupboard and a balcony full of washing. I'm not sure that this will make much sense, but that's about your blooming lot for this week - use it for manure if it's that bad . . .
Tomorrow I'm going out with Ryoko which should be fun - hopefully get some new clothes so I don't feel like such a dag now that there are people around who feel like going out on the weekends and the like.
We have a holiday Monday which I should try to spend catching up on study - 頑張ります！
posted by Eleanora Martinez at 11:08 AM
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