Written on November 28, 1989 [Permalink]

November 24

Finished off the 40 copies of Tenji Tenno, and I think that 39 of them are OK to send out. The new barens worked very well, both the 'real McCoy' and the plastic model. It's going to be fantastic, having a whole rack of them to choose from all the time. I used four different ones to make these prints, and when I remember back to printing in Canada with only one, and a flat one at that, I'm astonished that I could get any results at all ...

A phone call came in from our customer Mr. Kawanaka during one of the evening classes, with a somewhat unusual request. He wanted to know if I had any other prints available, in addition to the Hyakunin Isshu series. Well, I do and I don't. I've got copies of the stuff I made during our first year in Japan, but haven't even considered trying to sell them, as I think that they are not very well made, and are not particularly appealing designs. I thought that he might find them interesting though, so I packed up three of them, with a note saying 'thank you for your interest, and please accept these ...'.

November 25

A kid's day - the Jidokan, the museum, out for lunch together, etc. In the afternoon, back to the Horikawa [1-8] block after the week of printing.

November 26

Finished the main figure, including the 'horizontal' half of the hair. The 'vertical' hair lines will be on a separate block.

November 27

Picked up last week's photos, prepared a hanshita for the New Year's card, and started carving it. I'm using a tiny postcard-size block that Shimano-san gave me a couple of years ago, and that I have been saving for a year when the New Year card design needed fine lines. The last couple of years I've used cheap wood from the lumber store across the street, but this year's design needs the cherry wood.

November 28

Off to Tokyo, to pick up some paper for folder making from Yamada, and to stop in at the tourist information office to try and find some information on Hyakunin Isshu card-playing meetings that may be coming up over the New Year season. Yamada was no problem, they will cut the paper this time to the size I need, and ship it out by parcel service. I also arranged for future faxing of the order, to avoid making unnecessary trips into town. The tourist office, which has previously been very helpful with information searches, drew pretty much of a blank on this one. They were only able to turn up info on a couple of card game events held at temples in the Kyoto area. I got phone numbers and now simply have to try and convince Michiyo to get on the phone and get more information. She hates making this kind of call, and avoids it until I build up so many 'translation obligation credits' that she is unable to refuse!

Also stopped at Shimizu knife store, and picked up a couple more aisuki blades. I only have one each of the 1, 3, and 6mm sizes, and I'd like to have a couple more on hand, sharpened at different angles. (Am I becoming a tool collector like Gosho-san? I hope not!)

Stopped in at the Maruzen book store and picked up a couple of interesting books: a translation of the Hyakunin Isshu poems, and a copy of a new English language book on printmaking techniques. I've been avoiding buying the poetry book, being not too interested in delving into the arcane world of just what the poems are about, but have recently begun to feel a bit embarrassed of my ignorance. At least this will give me some kind of surface knowledge of the stuff ...

The other book discusses printmaking 'life' and techniques, with many references to the current printmaking scene here in Tokyo, and its impending disappearance. The cast of characters includes Ito-san the carver, Shimano-san the block maker, and other current workers. It's an interesting overview, but I wish that it was more detailed on technical points.