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| The magnificent Fujii-san uchibake |
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| Genjiro Fujii |
Of all our tools it is perhaps the Japanese tapping brush (uchibake) which takes pride of place in the studio. The uchibake we use are very special and are handmade by Genjiro Fujii in Kyoto where his family have been making brushes for almost 200 years.
The fibre is Indonesian Hemp Palm with a tapered lacquered handle to help with gripping the brush when in use. These brushes although quite large are superbly balanced and this means they are comfortable to use over extended periods of time.
Uchibake are used on hand scrolls when we are applying intermediate misu -gami paper linings with the 10 year old aged paste (furunori). A very dilute mixture of the paste can be used as the action of tapping meshes the paper fibres into place.
Fujii-san's uchibake are very highly regarded and all the major scroll mounting studios both in Japan and indeed around the world use and appreciate these remarkable tools.
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| Using the tapping brush to attach misu-gami paper linings to the Ogre scrolls |
In the early scenes from the first scroll our intrepid Samurai are shown with their Japanese bows and arrows. These were integral to the arsenal of weapons available to Samurai and a thorough understanding of kyujutsu (bow technique) was considered essential.
The bow (yumi) is made of a laminate of woods and is asymmetrical with the top being much longer than the bottom. This design assisted archers on horseback as they could more easily fire from either side of the horse.
The arrows (Ya) are traditionally made of bamboo. Every Ya has a gender (male ya are called haya; female ya, otoya); with the fletchings being made from feathers from alternate sides of the bird, the haya spins clockwise upon release while the otoya spins counter-clockwise. The feathers from eagle or hawk were preferred.
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| Binding the fletchings onto the arrow shaft |
Once the arrow is released, the grip on the bow is loosened allowing the bow to spin in the left
hand so that the string stops in front of the archer's outer left forearm.
This action is a fascinating combination of technique and the natural working of the bow. It is unique to kyujutsu.
Below is just one of many clips on Youtube featuring traditional Japanese archery:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZNdx_g_mr8
An important piece of studio equipment are the Japanese drying boards - karibari. These are constructed using a Japanese white cedar lattice covered with many layers of strong mulberry fibred paper. This is then coated with a fermented persimmon juice called kaki-shibu. The kaki-shibu comes from the astringent persimmon rather than the sweet culinary version and has a high proportion of tannin. This gives a semi porous coating which allows the paintings to dry from both sides in a more balanced way rather than from one side only.
The karibari are light and portable considering their size and essential in helping condition and flatten the paintings. To attach the sections of hand scroll wheat starch paste is applied to a fold of excess paper lining so that the painting is effectively floating. The paintings are left under tension on the karibari to condition for many weeks.
It seems inevitable that an Ogre who is very fond of Sake and is able to transform from Ogre to human form at will would prove difficult to portray.
There have been many attempts to represent this foulest of beings. Above are two triptychs (wood block prints) and two examples from hand scrolls showing the diversity of this very special Ogre.
The Chester Beatty Ogre however is by far the most dramatic and that which involves the most blood loss !
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| Scroll one during retouching |
Whilst the condition of the three hand scrolls is generally very good there are inevitably some areas of loss and damage which have occurred during their four hundred year history. Any missing areas are repaired with a matching gampi fibred paper. However before we can apply any colour to harmonise the repair with it's surroundings it needs to be sized.
The traditional way of doing this is to apply a very dilute solution of freshly prepared soy milk. This prevents the colour from being absorbed too quickly by the paper and allows a much greater degree of control when applying any colour.
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| The stages of preparing the soy size |
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The soy beans are soaked overnight - around 10 beans to 100ml of water. These are then ground to a pulp (in this case using an earthenware Japanese grinding bowl -suribachi), strained to separate the liquid from the pulp and then diluted with more water for use.
Contemporary artists also find this soy size very useful when working with absorbent papers.
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| Detail from Scroll 1 |
As we enter into the "Year of the Horse" (Umadashi) we should take this opportunity to consider the horses belonging to our Samurai. Although much of the hunt for the Ogres was conducted on foot due to the mountainous terrain it would have been important that the artist stressed the status of our Samurai by including a reference to their undoubted skills as horsemen.
However the Japanese horse at this time
would have been quite small, more like a wiry pony and not best suited
for carrying the weight of an amour clad Samurai into battle.
Horses were later imported to increase the size and strength of the indigenous Japanese horses available, and there are records showing that the Dutch East India Company were bringing Western horses to Japan as gifts to the Shogun. The horse below clearly shows evidence of this imported bloodstock.
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| A Sacred White Horse at the Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto |
As the horse is a symbol of nobility, class, speed and perseverance it promises to be an auspicious year for hunting Ogres..........
Restorient would like to wish all the followers of this blog a Happy New Year and our very best for 2014.
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