Tatebanko 1882

[papermodelfan]

Thank you B-Manic, for the link to the images of built tatebanko. Those are all some of the beautiful models that Tony Cole in Tokyo built for his exhibition at a Tokyo gallery in 2008. They are about a yard wide, so the scale of these things is impressive. He duplicated them onto a sturdier paper, so we have not yet captured the translucent effects. I am puzzled by how to print onto the thin (but strong) rice paper. A friend in San Francisco is experimenting with that now.

They remain incredibly rare in the West, and essentially unknown in Japan, except for a few aging collectors, and Tony Cole's circle of friends. Even though these are clearly made for adults, they often get lumped with another category of prints, called "o-mocha-e" or toy-prints, that include paper dolls with cut out costumes and other cut outs that are clearly for the youngsters. This is not how to get into museum collections, or collector's hands...

The modern tatebanko are not the same at all, being simply multi-layered versions of famous 2D prints, rather than full 3D dioramas. To really revive this in all its context, they would need to be issued along with the latest 3D movie - like a diorama of a dramatic moment in Avatar. No clue as to whether A Hollywood (or Japanese) studio would think that was worthwhile.

The two articles (one overview article in German and one in English on the optical illusions involved ) that Tony and I wrote are still the only things in print outside of Japan on the subject. Tony is now updating the overview article, and we will seek to publish it as well. As the copyrights are held by the two journals, I do not think I can put them here on the download section, but I am free to send an educational copy to an individual. PM me if you would like them.

Cheers, Rob Tauxe

[Art Deco]

Originally Posted by YuG

It’s my great surprise that I learn Japanese Tatebanko, which I didn’t know until come across on the other day at here American forum. It’s about time to reassess our own culture.

YuG, I think that works both ways. For example, I have met Japanese who knew far more about Native American cultures than I did.

I think it's a good example of the value of cross-cultural exchange - sometimes you can learn surprising things about your own culture from foreigners. As an American living in China, I often experience this.

Originally Posted by Thomas Meek

(...) the gentleman contemplating the tatebanko. Perhaps he is thinking of his girlfriend pictured on the scroll above his head.

I wonder if the scroll above his head represents what he is seeing or imagining from the tatebanko itself. The little figure projecting beyond the edge of the tatebanko building looks to have something of the shape of the reverse of the man leading the bull.

Maybe someone familiar with the conventions of Japanese art could explain if a floating "scroll" like that is possibly the equivalent of the "cloud" or "thought bubble" used in western drawing to illustrate a figure's thoughts?

[B-Manic]

I've occasionally seen tatebanko woodcut prints on e-bay - they tend to be a little pricey for me (or incomplete). This auction house also has some now and then Fuji Arts Japanese Prints - Japanese Woodblock Prints and Decorative Arts. This is an artform that it would be nice to see revived.

[Pat_craft]

I was looking for tatebankos and I found this interesting comparaison between a tatebanko and a classic printing on the same subject (here the dramatic love story of Kiyohime)

[Don Boose]

I haven’t had much chance to work on decoding the Japanese in the print displayed at the MFA site (http://www.mfa.org/collections/search_art.asp?recview=true&id=211037&coll_keyword s=tatebanko&coll_accession=&coll_name=&coll_artist =&coll_place=&coll_medium=&coll_culture=&coll_clas sification=&coll_credit=&coll_provenance=&coll_loc ation=&coll_has_images=&coll_on_view=&coll_sort=2& coll_sort_order=0&coll_view=0&coll_package=0&coll_ start=1) because I am crashing on completion of a paper I deliver in Paris in less than two weeks plus evaluations for the on-line forum of my Pacific Strategy elective.

I agree with Art Deco’s assessment that the scroll above the tatebanko-admirer’s head represents the image that the little model evokes.

I can’t get the full sense of the caption to the scroll, but what I have so far is: Kaze/FU* Nagare/RYU [wind river, or wind-style, or river breeze] Something mono/SHA [something person] Ji/Chi something [earth/place/locality something] go-nen [fifth year] Ku? [poem?] Nanagetsu [July, seventh month] not sure about the last two characters, could be Bōkō [Starvation Hill?].

* Lower case = gun-yomi [native Japanese] pronunciation; upper case = on-yomi [Chinese-derived] pronunciation of the Kanji characters.

I was hoping that Master Yu would provide us a real translation.

If I have time later, I will continue to struggle with it.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying the conversation and learning new things about tatebanko.

Don

[Yu Gyokubun]

Don-sama, thank you for providing an opportunity to culturalise me.
The caption is written in old Japanese so I had to look up on-line dictionary to understand it:( I am not sure if my translation is correct but my interpretation is:

Fu-ryu : “iki” this word is difficult to translate into English. See here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iki_(aesthetic_ideal)

Yaku-sha: knowing blade, shrewdie, slickster

Ji-tou: barefaced

Go-sekku: There are 5 days in a year people celebrate. January 7, March 3, May 5, July 7, September 9

Shichi-gatsu: July

No: of

Zu: picture

Translation is “Picture of barefaced iki(adjective) knowing blade on July 7” or something not far from that

[Don Boose]

Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita, Yu-sama!

Taihen compurexu!

Since ryū can mean "style" as well as "river," I thought it might have something to do with aesthetics, but would never have made the connection with iki. Working from your lead, Yu-sama, I find that one translation of fūryū is "refined" or "refinement."

And now that you have given me the word for the third character, I find that yakusha can also mean “actor.” Since the tatebanko is a kind of stage setting, could it be “actor”?

Could jitō (jitou) also mean "audacious" or "hopeful" or "wistful," as well as "bare-faced"?

And now I recall that July 7 is the day of the Tanabata festival. Since Tanabata is the festival that celebrates the princess and the cowherd separated by a river who can only meet once a year when a bridge of stars forms, allowing the cowherd to cross the river, that would fit with the scene depicted in the tatebanko.

So, as an alternate (bare-faced) translation, how about “Picture of a wistful, refined actor contemplating Tanabata”?


Don

PS: Have you translated the short phrase to the left of the man contemplating the tatebanko?

[Yu Gyokubun]

Don-sama, you outsmart me!
The short phrase to the left of the man is the name of painter. Ichiyosai Toyokuni. “Ichiyosai” is his art-name. His name is Utagawa Toyokuni, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyokuni
After reading about the painter I found his a master of ukiyo-e particular for hiskabuki actor prints
So, your translation of yakusha=actor must be correct beyond controversy.
As to jitou, I checked again and found it is read as “ji-atama”. That means a head without a palp. My interpretation about this word is that only when an actor appears on the stage he must put palp on his head and at his leisure he takes off the palp.

In conclusion, after US-Japan collaborative work, translation will be :
“Picture of a wistful, refined kabuki actor contemplating Tanabata at his leisure”

[Don Boose]

Banzai for Japan-U.S. (Ni-Bei) collaboaration!

Now I must find a way to get to Boston to see these tataebanko!

Merci beaucoup to Pat for bringing these to our attention.

Don (wistful, semi-refined, occasional papermodeler contemplating the propsect of some day observing tatebanko at his leisure)

[Pat_craft]

"Merci beaucoup to Pat for bringing these to our attention." You're welcome Don !

And this is a french traduction (adapted) from the english traduction from the japanese text :
"Estampe représentant un acteur de Kabuki, raffiné et mélancolique, contemplant une scène illustrant la légende de la princesse et du bouvier."

Thanks Don Boose, Yug, Papermodelfan... that was an interesting discusion !

An ideal end of this will be to see (and build) the tatekanko represented on the printing...
(really not sure that it is correct english... sorry)