First off, sorry for the lack of posts this week, work and holidays often get in the way of my true interests, and I think most of my American readers were tied up similarly. So, on with the show.

Exhibited here is your typical Naga-Hibachi. Most Americans confuse the small metal barbecues that you can find in supermarkets (near the charcoal) which are actually called Shichiren with Hibachi. Apparently the confusion came about when shichiren were being introduced to the west, and the true name seemed to be too hard for us to pronounce. So, as with most things foreign, we decided to use an easier word to suit our needs, and hibachi must have rolled off the tongue easier. Even better, we also misuse the word hibachi to describe a flat iron grill which is actually called a teppan. You might be familiar with this cooking apparatus if you’ve eaten at Benihana’s. I could keep this train going, but I’ve gotten a little off topic.

A true hibachi is a wooden box that has a copper liner into which you place charcoal. Older versions were called hibitsu (fire coffer) and basically consisted of a hewn block of wood with clay lining the inside for fireproofing. While later versions (after the boxes) were sometimes round and made out of porcelain (round wooden versions were also popular). A hibachi is primarily used for a heat source to keep water hot for tea as well as providing the only heat source, outside of the kitchen, in a traditional home. You could use it to light your kiseru (pipe), or insert incense sticks for aroma. As tea was customarily served to guests, you usually hung out around the hibachi. The addition of drawers were used to hold items like tongs, your tobacco pouch, or tools for tea preparation.

Naga-hibachi represents the Kanto (basically Edo or Tokyo) regional version of the firebox. They usually had drawers down one side or along the bottom, or both as seen in the picture above. Any useable surface space was adjacent to the firebox and sometimes had a lid to cover storage compartements. Drawer handles were typically warabite (fern hand) with the wood being Keyaki (Japanese Elm). The joinery was typically hanken-shiki (finger joint), but hibachi were also one of the only types of household furnishings that could also have dovetail joints. The piece above states that it has dovetails, but I couldn’t see them in the pictures. For more info on this piece click here or on the picture. When I come accross the other styles, I will of course post about them.

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Here we have another fine example of Nihonmatsu region cabinetmaking. I won’t go into so much detail, as I previously described the style here in a previous post. I just want to point out the things that I find interesting with this piece that I haven’t seen before.

The coolest attribute that this piece has are the brass butterfly sliding keyhole covers. The butterflies and the various positions they are placed in lend and amazing lightness to the piece. Depending on the position the covers are left in, it almost seems as if there are butterflies flitting all across the tansu. The contrasting brass color helps them to stand out, creating an amazing visual element, enticing the eye to wander across the piece. I especially like the way the butterfly actually cantilevers over the edge of the jomae (lockplate) on the safe door. Totemo sugoi, ne! The lockplates also have nice depictions of cherry blossoms, bamboo, and pine boughs.

I also would like to point out the butterfly protective plates for the warabite handles and how they are unusually canted to either side, furthering the floating effect. This has got to be one of the most aesthetically enticing pieces I’ve ever come across. Click on one of the pictures to go to the listing for more images, you won’t regret it.

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OK, I just had to do a post on this piece since I wrote about Te-kagami (hand mirrors) earlier here. This type of furniture basically came about during the Meiji era. The style changed over time in the successive Taisho and Showa eras due to women’s dressing needs changing and the influx of western mirror imports. This piece is from the Meiji era as it’s holder is for the older style mirror as well as the cabinetry resembling traditional styles. Later Kyodai incorporated tall western style mirrors and exhibited much more decorative grained woods. Made out of Keyaki (Japanese Elm) and joined using hanken shiki (finger joints), with hirute (leech style) handles over incised toshi-zagane (backplates). Maybe not the most elaborate of pieces, but at least it’s a style that you dont see all to often, being overshadowed in the market by clothing and kitchen chests. All in all, an interesting tansu.

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This hand colored woodblock print is a map of Yamashiro no kuni (Yamashiro Provence) dating from 1778, and I’m surprised its lasted this long. I’m not much of a cartographer so I can’t tell you about the quality of this map along those terms, except that it is in amazing condition. You have to click on the image and go to the link because there is an amazing zoomable image in high resolution to check out. What I can tell you is what was going on in Japan at the time and that’s what makes this piece so worthwhile (beyond the fact that it is 229 years old). First a little background (without turning this into a history paper).

Yamashiro had been the home of the seat of the Imperial Court of Japan since 794. Kammu was the Emperor at this time and he moved the capitol first from Nara in 784 to Nagaoka-kyou, then to Heian-kyou (now Kyoto) in 794, thus beginning the Heian period of Japan. Religion played a huge part in politics at this time, especially Buddhism (downplaying Shinto) since the Rulers of the time were trying hard to give themselves clout with the Chinese emissaries (since they were borrowing so much from them, like kanji, technology and creational myths) so this was when all the important religious figures started to gravitate towards the area and temples started to be built. I could list all the temples that you might find depicted on this map but, you can find that all online. You might also find the areas of Gion and Pontocho on the map that were used as inspiration for the book and movie Memoirs of a Geisha.

In 1778 the Emperor was Go-Momozomo (who died the next year at the ripe old age of 22), the Shogun was Tokugawa Ieharu (the tenth Tokugawa Shogun) and the area had just suffered a massive flood. Also at this time a Russian trader named Pavel Lebedev-Lastochkin (the first non-Dutch to contact the Japanese for trade) had landed in Ezo, what is now known as Hokkaido, and was turned away (Japan was under the policy called Sakoku, no one could leave or enter the country upon penalty of death), being told to try again in Nagasaki (one of the four places that was permitted outside contact and trade, as well as being quite far away from Russia) which helped to discourage him.

At any rate, this map was created during an interesting time in Japanese history and would be well worth inclusion in one’s collection, albeit the asking price of $4,999.99 might be a little prohibitive for most collectors. At least it’s worthwhile to look at the high-def images. Check it out.

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For some reason I just love funa dansu, maybe its because my family had boats during my formative years, leaving me with an inherent penchant for all things nautical (might explain why I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific). Whatever it is, this piece just screams at me. One of the 12 typical variations of cho-baku funa dansu that arose during the Meiji era, this piece has everything you want. Ample hardware (the extra plating originally was used to help secure the sashimono (joinery) because the glue used at the time was unreliable, especially in an aquarian environment, but later was used more as a theft deterant), as well as having a Kendon-buta (drop-fit door)
hiding a Keyaki strong box with a Kiri document box inside (although Paulownia was used typically for these interior boxes, so maybe it’s mis-identified). With Kakute (square hand) style external handles and the single Hirute (leech hand) handle on the interior drawer, hidden by the drop-fit door, as well as all the keys for the exterior drawers (minus the one for the interior drawer), this piece is just amazing. And the price is equally so, listed at $16,800.00, this tansu could be in a museum, or better yet, my apartment (I wish).

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