こちらの宝石箱は手のひらにのるサイズの愛らしさです。外側には常緑樹で不老長寿の象徴とされる松が彫られ、正面と側面に一羽ずつ小鳥が装飾されています。おしどりでしょうか。金具にも細かく細工がされ、葉の形から「ナズナ」にも見えます。春の七草の一つで長寿や無病息災の縁起の良い植物です。ちなみに花言葉は海外と日本と共通で「あなたに私のすべてを捧げます（I offer you my all)」だそうです。ロマンティックなような少し重いような…。
This morning on the train, there were many people dressed in summer clothes and others in autumn attire. It is really hard to decide what to wear these days.
I have been wondering about this small silver jewelry box in the store. It looks like a small chest inside. It is called “metalwork,” which is a general term for crafts made by processing metals such as gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin. In Japan, swords, bronze bells, and ornaments were first made using metalworking techniques introduced from the Chinese continent and the Korean peninsula during the Yayoi period.
This jewelry box is a lovely size that fits in the palm of your hand. The outside is carved with a pine tree, an evergreen symbol of longevity, and the front and sides are decorated with small birds. A small bird is decorated on the front and side. The metal fittings are also finely crafted. It is one of the seven spring flowers and is a plant of good omen for longevity and good health. Incidentally, the language of flowers is the same in both Japan and overseas: “I offer you my all. It sounds romantic and a bit heavy…
When you open the door, you will find three small drawers, each decorated with a different pattern: the first drawer has a checkered pattern, the second has a blue sea wave, and the third has a “fawn” pattern, I guess. These are familiar Japanese patterns, but I looked them up again.
The checkered pattern is a pattern composed of alternating squares of two different colors, meaning “prosperity of descendants” or “expansion of business” because the continuous squares continue uninterrupted. The checkered pattern has existed as a woven pattern not only in Japan but around the world since ancient times, and in Western Europe it is called “check” after the chessboard.
The checkered pattern has a long history in Japan, with a checkered pattern of approximately 5 cm square being drawn on the surface of “deep bowl earthenware” made in the late Jomon Period. The checkered pattern is also found on the hakama of a “Kijin Haniwa” (noble clay figurine) made in the late Kofun period (6th century). This simple-looking pattern may instinctively evoke a sense of permanence and infinite expanse, and may be something that humans find attractive.
The name “checkered pattern” was coined after Sano Ichimatsu, a kabuki actor of the mid-Edo period, used this pattern on his favorite hakama.
It has been used in emblems for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and in trendy cartoons, and its popularity has not diminished yet.
The second row is the aonami wave. It is made up of a series of three semicircles to represent waves. The origin of this design is said to be Persian, and the name is said to come from the Gagaku (ancient Japanese court music) performance “Seigaiha (blue ocean waves). The endless wave pattern is often used in wedding celebrations to express the wish for a long and peaceful life in the future.
The third row, the “fawn” pattern, represents the white spots seen on the back of a fawn. In Japanese history, deer were considered to be messengers from the gods, and even today, deer are heavily protected at shrines such as Kasuga Taisha and Kashima Shrine. The deer is an animal with strong fertility and vitality, and is considered an auspicious symbol for prosperity of offspring and longevity.
The cherry blossoms inside the door have also long been considered a symbol of “good harvest” and “prosperity,” and this little jewelry box is filled to the brim with wishes for happiness. The owner of the box must have felt these feelings. And it would be wonderful if it is passed on to someone else again.
The mornings and evenings have become a little cooler. This morning I was relieved to feel a fresh breeze through the window and had a warm cup of coffee before going to work.
I have been looking at this hanging scroll since the other day, and I have been thinking about how things sometimes turn out like this as a result of how things turned out like this…. I am thinking vaguely about it. What’s wrong? You might say, “What’s the matter? I was looking at this hanging scroll, and I am planning to visit “Yakushiji Temple” in the near future.
The East Pagoda, a national treasure of Yakushiji Temple, which has been watching over Yakushiji Temple for 1,300 years since its foundation, was completed after 12 years of total dismantling and major repair work starting in July 2009, and a three-year postponement due to the Corona disaster. The East Pagoda is the oldest pagoda in Heijo-kyo Capital. The eight-phase statues of Shakyamuni, which represent the life of Shakyamuni, were placed in the inner sanctuaries of the East and West Pagodas at the time of their construction. This is the first time in 500 years, since the military fire in 1528, that the eight-phase statues of Shakyamuni were enshrined in the east and west pagodas, and they are currently being unveiled.
This is the reason why I wanted to visit Yakushiji Temple.
It was written by Yoshitane Takada, the abbot of Yakushiji Temple, who initiated the unprecedented project of restoring the Hakuho temple complex by promoting the copying of one million scrolls of sutras.
Fudo
What is “Fudo”?
In 627, Sanzo, the Buddhist monk, left Chang’an for India in search of the correct Dharma, and proceeded westward alone. No matter what harm might befall him, no matter what harm might befall his destination, he would not return to his hometown in the East, not even for a single step, until he reached his destination. The word “Far East” refers to Sanzo Hoshi’s earnest spirit of seeking the Way of the Buddha.
However, in order to achieve such a goal, one must have a strong will and make constant efforts. The meaning that constant effort is essential is deeply engraved in these two Chinese characters.
Looking at these two unwavering kanji characters, I could feel the figure of Sanzo Hoshi and the determination of Yoshitane Takada, the former abbot of Yakushiji Temple, who left these characters, which made me want to visit Yakushiji Temple.
After all this and all that, my plans for this fall have been decided.
I am planning to visit Yakushiji Temple this fall.
I have made my blog debut today. I hope you will all take it easy on me.
The news is reporting that we have broken the record for the slowest heat wave in history, but the calendar says that we have reached the equinoctial equinox. It is a strange saying that “hot and cold lasts until the equinoctial week.
Speaking of the far shore, many of you may be facing your ancestors by visiting graves or holding memorial services. The standard offering on the far shore is sweet o-hagi (rice cakes) wrapped in red bean paste.
Another food similar to o-hagi is botamochi. Both of these foods are offered on the far shore, but there is a difference in that botamochi is offered on the spring far shore and ohagi is offered on the fall far shore, and I have been wondering why the difference.
Botamochi offered on the spring Ohigan is derived from the spring flower “Botan” (peony). The name of the autumnal offering, ohagi, comes from hagi, one of the seven flowers of autumn, and it seems that everyone makes offerings to their ancestors by offering something that is compared to the beautiful flowers that bloom on the far shore.
The difference between “ohagi” and “botamochi” is not only in the origin of the name, but also in the way they are made. Ohagi and botamochi share a common point: glutinous rice, which is characterized by its stickiness and elastic texture, is cooked with a mixture of rice and uruchi rice, which is commonly used for meals, and the mixture is rolled into a rice cake with just enough graininess remaining. The major difference lies in the bean paste that envelops the mochi. While o-hagi uses mashed sweet bean paste to wrap the rice cake, botamochi uses koshi-an (sweet red bean paste).
Because azuki beans are harvested in the fall, freshly harvested azuki beans are used for ohagi, which are offered on the autumnal equinox. Fresh azuki are soft-skinned and can be eaten with the skin when cooked, so the bean paste used for ohagi is tsubu-an, which still has the skin.
On the other hand, azuki beans used for botamochi on the far shore of spring have long since been harvested and their skins have become dry and hard. The skin remains in the mouth when the botamochi is made with tsubu-an, making it difficult to eat, so the botamochi is made with koshi-an, which has the skin removed.
Furthermore, the shape of botamochi differs from that of o-hagi. Botamochi is made round and large to resemble a peony with a large flower, while o-hagi is made in the shape of a bale to resemble a bush clover flower with long, thin petals. I had thought that the names for these sweets differed depending on the region, but I was surprised to learn that there was such a difference.
As you know, the crisp autumn air is not quite coming here in Nagoya, or even in the whole country. I am worried about a number of things. On TV this morning, there were reports about the delay in the fall foliage and concerns about crops due to this heat. However, there are some good things thanks to this heat. Chestnuts and muscats are said to be slightly smaller, but they are sweeter and tastier. I happened to buy some muscats the other day, and they were definitely sweet, fragrant, and delicious.
And, as you can see, our store’s display is now in autumnal attire.
It is starting to look a little more like fall.
I have noticed something during this unexpected hot weather.
I have been putting away my summer clothes even though it is hot…, changing cushion covers and fabrics to autumn and winter ones, putting away glass plates for next year…, and so on. I was chasing the next season, but all of them were unconscious…. This year, in spite of this heat, and besides, isn’t it a hassle, what’s wrong? Myself. I don’t know if it is because of my annual routine or if I am unconsciously following it on a genetic level, but what on earth is the standard of my seasonal biological clock? I am not sure if it is my annual routine or if I am following it unconsciously on a genetic level, but it occurred to me. I would like to experiment with the human body to see what would happen if I lived in a tropical country with no four seasons.
I don’t really care about such trivial topics, but I am sure that I like living in a country with four seasons, because although the change of seasons is troublesome, I also have fun and excited anticipation for the next season, and I like it. I thought this morning that while unconsciousness is fine, I might like it even more if I go out to greet the next season on my own.
This summer, I was healed by the sound of Nambu ironware wind chimes displayed in our store. It is said that the sound of wind chimes actually has the effect of lowering body temperature. However, this is an effect unique to Japanese people, who sense the wind from the sound of wind chimes. So cultural differences even affect the way our brains work.
It has been only a short time since I started working here, and my knowledge of antiques is still limited, but I would like to learn little by little what I like among the masterpieces on display in the store. I will try to learn a little bit about some of the masterpieces on display in the shop that I like.
First of all, this Imariyaki namasu plate, which is a fusion of celadon and underglaze blue.
I thought the combination of colors was wonderful. When served, the dish does not interfere with the food, but when you finish eating, the ink painting-like underglaze blue appears and gives you a rich feeling.
The dish is a 5″ dish with a diameter of about 15 cm. It has a raised rim and is deep, making it easy to serve stewed or soupy dishes. In fact, it is probably the size most frequently used in the home.
As the name suggests, this dish has been used by the general public since around the Edo period (1603-1867) as a vessel for serving side dishes such as “namasu. Namasu” is said to be the oldest cooking method in Japan. It consists of meat, fish, vegetables, etc. soaked in vinegar and seasoned. It is said to be the oldest cooking method in Japan. I imagine that in those days when there were no refrigerators, dishes using vinegar appeared more often than now.
The size of this dish can also be used as a serving plate, and its usage is probably unlimited even today.
This plate was made in the Meiji period, but works that fused celadon and underglaze blue were created in the Edo period, around 1630. Celadon porcelain was originally developed in China, where the blue color is produced by applying a glaze mixed with 1% to 2% ferric oxide and firing. Furthermore, celadon requires “reduction flame firing,” a process in which the oxygen in the kiln is adjusted to deprive the fired product of oxygen. The mere mention of the word “reduction” may make you think of the chemical formulas from your school days, and you may reject the idea of reduction firing.
Simply put, the oxygen in the kiln is removed, and the iron in the glaze and the base material reacts to turn blue. If you remove as much oxygen as possible, it becomes blue, and if you remove it moderately, it becomes green. The gradation between blue and green is the color of celadon porcelain.
When fired with a certain amount of oxygen, it can become orange or yellow, which is also called celadon.
In the process of applying blue glaze, a pattern is drawn on the base with blue pigment called gosu, which is mainly composed of cobalt oxide, and then a transparent glaze is applied over the pattern and fired. It is said that the skill of the artist tends to vary, requiring advanced techniques such as line drawing, dammi, fuki sumi, and sumi bouncing. The depth of the scenery depicted in a single shade of indigo is so magical that it seems to absorb you and make you want to keep looking at it.
At a time when knowledge of chemistry was still scarce, potters attempted to fuse these two techniques to create ideal works of art. I imagine it took a lot of patience and effort, but it is also a world of dreams.
Usually, we start to feel the autumn winds during the three-day weekend in September, which I think is the perfect day for an excursion, but this year seems to be different. Please take care of your health.
This week has been a week of flowers.
One is that I received a ticket and had a chance to visit an ikebana exhibition. The other is that I had a celebration and sent a bouquet of flowers for the first time in a long time. Just looking at flowers makes me feel happy.
An exhibition of ikebana. I was entertained by a wide variety of traditional and innovative flower arrangements. The sense of unity with the vase is impressive.
For the bouquet, there was a florist in the neighborhood that I was interested in, so I went to consult with him the day before and he selected the flowers for me. The orange flowers were sunflowers. There are currently more than 100 varieties of sunflowers. When I went to pick up the flowers on the day of the event, a very nice bouquet was prepared.
The long and slender “Toranowo” flowers were added on the same day. The language of flowers is (everlasting) and (immortal), and they are popular as congratulations for marriage and longevity.
When I took a trial flower arrangement lesson before, I was taught to make sure that the flower arrangement was beautiful from all angles and filled in without gaps. I remember it was surprisingly difficult.
Perhaps I was confused because I had dabbled a little in ikebana at the time. In flower arrangement, we are taught to be conscious of the front and to create a new space there with fewer flowers.
I like both types of flowers, but I suddenly wondered what the difference was.
This is my personal image…. I feel that in Western arrangements, the focus is on the flowers themselves when arranging them, concentrating on how beautiful and lovely they look. I guess it is like adding one flower after another while looking at the expression of the flower.
In flower arrangement, I feel that I am more conscious of myself and the small space around the vase than of the flowers. I take my time to bring each flower to life, one by one, with the few materials I have. When the teacher was rearranging the flowers, the space changed drastically with just a slight change in the direction or movement of just one flower. The air flow changed so much that I thought something was coming out of her hands.
I think Shogo KARIYAZAKI’s flowers with Flower Attis are an exquisite mix of these two flower worlds.
As Staff Y once tweeted on his blog, unfortunately, flowers do not bloom beautifully to please humans, but have evolved in a variety of colors to attract insects and keep the seeds alive by making the flowers colorful.
No matter how much I stare at them, I am healed, encouraged, and happy by their unassuming atmosphere.
In truth, perhaps it is the few words that reach people’s hearts.
I have been a staff member here for quite a long time, and I am keenly aware of how deep the world of antiques and antiques art really is. Although I try my best to study and gain knowledge every day, I still encounter things and knowledge that I do not know and mutter to myself, “Wow, I didn’t know that. I am still trying to learn and gain knowledge every day, but every day I come across things and knowledge that I do not know. I wonder if this is what it means to be drawn to antiques and antiquities, which really tickle my curiosity without end.
Today, my curiosity was piqued by
Sanda celadon porcelain.
Of course, this is the first time for me to see it. I am ashamed to admit that I did not know this, but Mita celadon is sometimes referred to as one of the world’s three major celadon wares, along with Chinese Longquan celadon and Korean Goryeo celadon.
Production mainly began in the late Edo period (1799) and was seen in large numbers until the early Showa period (1926-1989). It is said that production began when the original celadon stones were found among the Sanda ware produced in the Shidehara, Miwa, and Mushio kilns in Sanda City in the Edo period.
The discovery was made by Chubei Uchida, and later, with the support of the wealthy merchant Sohei Kanda, numerous masterpieces of Sanda celadon were produced, which were actively exported not only domestically but also by the Sanda Ceramic Company.
There are many types of glazes, and various pottery cultures have been handed down not only in Japan but also around the world.
Celadon glaze is not so difficult to make nowadays, but when it first appeared, celadon was very difficult to make and handle. Therefore, it required a craftsman’s eye to look at and examine the raw materials. Sanda celadon porcelain, with its unique transparency and beautiful coloring, came to be regarded as a high level of quality as Chinese celadon porcelain, which may be related to the high quality of glaze at that time.
For many years, many high-quality celadon wares flowed into Japan from China, but after a while, the importation of such wares stopped. However, there are some differences between Chinese celadon and Japanese celadon in terms of costume, and some Japanese elements have been incorporated into the Chinese celadon.
This small dish also has a thin tortoiseshell pattern, which is indeed a very fine Japanese quality. Porcelain is more resistant to cracking than ceramics, and there is almost no stain on the porcelain, so as long as the porcelain is not broken, it can be maintained in its original form, which is another wonderful point of Sanda celadon ware.
The history of celadon porcelain in Japan can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1192), when the culture of celadon porcelain was recognized. At that time, of course, the most high-quality top brands were imported from China, not domestically, and other well-known and well-known brands such as Koryo celadon from Korea.
In fact, celadon was first produced in Japan in the early 17th century in Hizen Nabeshima (present-day Saga Prefecture), which was also a place where celadonite was mined. Later, another type of celadon stone was mined in Sanda, and the local lord was not interested, so Kanda Sohei took the initiative and invited Kinkodo Kamesuke, an excellent potter from Kyoto, to make and bake celadon at the Miwa Myojin Kiln. This was the beginning of Sanda celadon porcelain.
The high level of finish of Sanda celadon porcelain was so high that it was mistaken for Chinese porcelain, and the reputation of Sanda celadon porcelain spread throughout Japan and spread to Osaka and Edo (now Tokyo). As Sanda celadon spread throughout Japan, celadon sales offices were established in Osaka and Edo (now Tokyo), and distribution gradually expanded. Mita celadon became known as one of the “world’s three major celadon porcelains.” Unlike celadon from China and Korea, Mita celadon has grown to such a high quality and brand in a tremendous speed, which is a great difference from celadon from other countries.
The quality of Mita celadon porcelain is characterized by the fact that it is generally glazed and finished once, but this Mita celadon porcelain is made four times, as can be seen from its cross section. The use of this unique process gives the piece a sense of depth and natural profundity. The glaze is transparent to begin with, but each coat gives a different color and glossy finish, perhaps due to the trace amount of iron in the glaze or the way the craftsman fired it. The coloring is rather pale and soft.
The glaze is also very delicate and varies depending on how it is applied, and when you pick up each of these small dishes, you can see a gradation of different thicknesses. This also shows the depth of each unique celadon.
This Mita celadon dish is different from the usual celadon dish with a glass glaze that gives a cold impression. As you can see when you hold it in your hand, it is a slightly warm celadon that conveys that the craftsmen who carefully made each piece have created their own unique glaze.
