J is for Japan

Two cards sent to me from Japan, one recently, the other several years ago, and each sent by a different person.  I don't even think they have the same publisher but what struck me was that they have a similar misty, unfocused, style.

The first shows an unnamed coastal village "somewhere in Japan" and the second pictures an old building in Hakodate, a historical city in north Japan.  I believe it's the Old Public Hall.

G is for Green Giant

Norman Rockwell's style is fairly easily recognisable, though I'll admit to having been confused once or twice.  He was an American artist who created covers for The Saturday Evening Post from 1916, and went on to depict small town life after he moved to Vermont.

This piece, dated 1939, has the title "Who's Having More Fun?" and was an illustration for an advertisement for Green Giant canned corn.

Strangely, it was sent to me from Japan.

Utamaro

This card arrived in my collection entirely by accident - I found it inside a second-hand book I bought recently.  It was originally sent from Japan by a dutiful son to his mother.

The picture is one of Kitagawa Utamaro's woodblock prints.  He was a Japanese artist (1753-1806) and one of the most famous artists of the ukiyo-e tradition of prints.

I haven't been able to identify this one in spite of having trawled through 800+ images on ukiyo-e.org
There were 3000+ of them so I know I didn't really get very far.

Green peace

I've had a hot and bothersome week so this beautiful card from Japan has come as a welcome surprise.  It shows a pathway through the bamboo forest of  Sagano which is near Kyoto. When there is a breeze, the bamboos make a wonderful sound.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Right there with you

This doesn't fit my normal collections which I keep in albums, but there are others I just like to have around on view.  They bring a smile to my face, as does this one. It was sent to me from Japan and in spite of the English words, it was in fact published in Japan too.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Tsushima

Tsushima is an island, really a group of islands in the Sea of Japan.  Most of the island is rural and a nature reserve.  There are distinctive stone roofed buildings which are unlike any found elsewhere in Japan.

This stamp shows a very typical Japanese landscape with cherry blossom and I think that must be Mount Fuji in the background.

These two were on a different postcard..

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Maiko

A maiko girl, literally "dance child" is a geisha-in-training in Japan.  In Kyoto they can start this training at the age of 15 but they must be 18 in Tokyo.  They have the white make-up generally associated with geishas but in fact geishas normally wear lighter make up, apart from theatrical performances.

The maikos in the picture above are taking part in a traditional tea ceremony..

Flowers from Japan

T he blossom on the front of this postcard of Mount Kasayama in Japan, the smallest active volcano in the country,  is echoed on the stamp.

I've had quite a few flower stamps from Japan:

Dicentra peregrina

Lagotis glauca (weaselsnout)

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

The Shinmachi Bridge, Hodogaya

Apart from being very attractive, the card and stamp have stories to tell.

The card shows Shinmachi Bridge in Hodogaya as a woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige from Japan.  It is number five of a series about the 53 Stations of the Tokaido, one of the five major roads in Japan in Utagawa Hiroshige's day.  The "stations" refers to places along the road which provided shelter for travellers.

Hiroshige travelled the length of the Tokaido in 1832 and produced 55 prints, one for each station and one each for departure (from Edo) and arrival (at Kyoto).   So, while this print is 5th in the series, it pictures the 4th station.

The picture shows some travellers crossing the bridge to a village where, according to Wikipedia, some waitresses are beckoning the travellers to enter the restaurant there.

The stamp shows a Japanese playing card for a game called Hyakunin isshu, popularly played over New Year.  I don't begin to understand it.

Matsue in winter

We are having terrible weather here in the UK: heavy rain causing floods with severe winds only making the problems worse with power cuts and tidal surges.  The saving grace is that it isn't cold so there hasn't been a great deal of snow anywhere.

That may change of course and we may yet see scenes like this one from Japan, though they are unlikely to be so picturesque.  Matsue is a city in the province of Izumo, towards the south of Japan.  A dance called Sada Shin Noh originates in the Shinto shrine of Sada Jinja in Matsue.  The dance has been inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Learning to read

One of my favourite recent arrivals is this lovely card which pictures a child being shown a book, maybe for the first time.  He or she looks a little young to be learning to read but I believe no child is too young to start to understand the enjoyment of books.

The card was sent to me from Japan but when I enlarged the part of the card showing the text, I could see that it clearly isn't Japanese.  If you click on the lower picture you can see a much larger but unfortunately rather out of focus picture of the text.  I'm hoping someone who recognises the language will happen along and identify it.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

The Year of the Snake

I don't believe I've seen snake shaped snowmen before, but from Japan came this Happy New Year postcard with snakes building a snowman in their likeness.  On the reverse was this stamp:

I'm not entirely sure what it is but you can at least see a snake there.

Another card from Taiwan recently arrived with a Year of the Snake motif:

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Traditional Japanese house

According to the person who sent me this card, this is a traditional Japanese living room.  At the centre is the "erori" (if I've read it right) where simple cooking can be done, but I'm told this is only seen in the movies or at an exhibition now.

A bear hug

We all need a hug sometimes.

Smile

This was sent to me from Japan which may account for the slightly odd sentence, "I wish you are always smiling", but the message is there so I'll smile.  It seems like a very good idea.  :)

Nihonbashi Bridge on Snow Morning

"Nihonbashi" literally means Japanese bridge and it is the famous bridge in the centre of Edo (now Tokyo).  This picture is a woodblock print in the ukiyo-e style and is one of a series "One Hunred Views of Edo" created in the 19th century by Hiroshige Ando.  Van Gogh copied two of this series: Flowering Plum Tree and Bridge in the Rain.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.  Just click on the button to visit and join in.

Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji.  Well defined nobility, it says on the card because the Japanese characters making up the name mean mean "wealth" or "abundant" and "a man with a certain status".  Mount Fuji must be one of the favourite subjects of photos and art in Japan.

Himeji Castle

From the back of the card: Himaji Castle, also known as "The Castle of the White Heron".  It was constructed in 1609.  It is well known for its sugar cake appearance and delicate design, almost like a fairy story castle.

Rather more prosaically this cards says: Cherry blossoms, Himeji Castle, World Heritage.

Himeji Castle, know also as either "White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle",  in Japan is on top of a hill.  It was rebuilt in 1609 on the site of an earlier fort dating from 1333.  It escaped bombing during WWII and again remained undamaged after the earthquake in 1995.  It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and is one of the most visited sites in Japan.

The first card is dated 1971.  I bought it in a local flea market thinking how lovely it was, then this morning the second one, equally beautiful, landed on my doormat.  So I promptly changed my mind about today's post for Our Wonderful World.  To me they show a combination of the beauty of nature and man's ability to produce beauty from building materials.

Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.

Wise owls

Japanese owls saying - so I'm told - "Something good must happen on the night of the full moon".  They certainly look happy.

Jongmyo, Seoul

The Jongmyo shrine, sometimes spelled Chongmyo, is thought to be the oldest royal Confucian shrine.  It is devoted to services in memory of the kings and queens of Korea of the dynasty which lasted from the 14th to the early 20th century.

The building dedicated a room for each king and his queen and was continually expanded lengthwise from west to east.  During the the Seven Year War with Japan in the 16th century it was burnt down, but rebuilt soon after. It is the longest traditional building in Korea.

The rituals as shown on the postcard are performed by musicians and dancers and are reconstructions of the Confucian rituals based on Chinese court music dating back to the 14th century and before.

As an outstanding example of a Confucian royal shrine it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The rites of music and dance have been designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the South Korean government because its historical importance and the sound and spectacle of the ceremony.