Tatebanko 1882

[Pat_craft]

I have read those very interresting posts here and here.

And I tried to build the tatebanko displayed at the Museum of fine arts, Boston.

I wanted to do the tatebanko made by Utagawa Yoshifuji in 1882, even if the picture was not in a very good resolution (1100x1600 pixels).

The build was not very easy without any explanation (I don't read old japanese...) and the picture model is very, very, very small ! A bit challenging but very interresting !

Actualy,I'm not sure to have done the right build, but the result seems consistent.

Some pictures...

[papermodelfan]

Many thanks for posting the pictures of your build. I have not seen this subject before, and did not realize the Boston Museum had it. It is a portable shrine with a deity from the Shinto pantheon, used in a big summer festival.

The tatebanko are interesting and complex constructions, and you learn a lot about their intended customers from building them - clearly the designer expected them to be very adept at scissors and glue, and able to visualize and assemble these with minimal instructions.

There are now three tatebanko on the BMFA website, and one other remarkable print, of a well dressed gentleman contemplating one. The print is from BEFORE 1825, (the year the artist died). Perhaps a member who can read the old Japanese script can decipher the title for us. It is worth a look:

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Collections Search Results

You can see several things. It is illuminated from behind by candles, taking advantage of the translucent paper that it is printed on. You can see the little bamboo sticks that prop up the parts from the back, providing support for the other wise flimsy paper. It is prominently placed on a little table with other images of leisure time above. The well dressed man is smoking a pipe, and seems to be lost in a reverie.

So a work of art, depicting the customer, enjoying a paper model. Now how cool is that?!

[Don Boose]

I'm glad to see more tatebanko making an appearance.

I have printed out the MFA image and later today will give the Japanese a try, if one of the real Japanese readers/speakers do not translate it first. Most of the main characters are quite legible, although some of the notes in red are in grass writing (script) and hard to discern.

I think this is the first 19th century Japanese image of a paper model I have ever seen. VERY cool!

Don

[Art Deco]

Fascinating model, Pat! Thanks for posting it!

And Rob, thanks for the link to that intriguing print! Flickering candles behind the translucent images, in a darkened room at night ... glowing colors, shadow and movement ... in our times, we are so surrounded by animated images, it's hard to appreciate how mesmerizing the effect must have been.

Perhaps the contents of the gentleman's pipe further enhanced the effect ...

[Yu Gyokubun]

Since the arrival of the black ships of Commodore Perry, we Japanese have been scrambling to catch up Western civilization and culture, and forget about our own culture. 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. Thanks for setting the stage by showing interesting build

[B-Manic]

Nice build. I really like the vibrant colors used in classic Tatebanko. The battle and opera scene ones convey a real sense of vitality. The modern ones tend to be of scenery and have very muted colors.

Some classics can be seen here ?????? ? Gallery ??? blog 200808

The modern ones are often just dioramas created from classic woodblock prints.

[Pat_craft]

Thanks a lot for your explanations papermodelfan
And thanks to all for your comments !

I will be very interested with others classic tatebankos ! If someone have an information... I search a lot on the internet but it's difficult to found them.

[Thomas Meek]

Pat_craft; That is a nice build, especially considering the small size. I hadn't been aware of that one. Thanks for sharing it.

papermodelfan; Thank you for the update, and sharing that wonderful picture of the gentleman contemplating the tatebanko. Perhaps he is thinking of his girlfriend pictured on the scroll above his head.

Am very interested in what Don Boose comes up with re: translation of the text.

I have downloaded the low resolution images provided by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, but was disappointed with the poor print quality. As I understand it, the images are available at higher resolution which would allow good printing at a bit larger size, but the fees charged are rather high. They are also quite stringent about the use to which the images are put.

There is at least one Japanese company which sells some of the traditional tatebanko, but unfortunately they only sell to customers in Japan.

[B-Manic]

There are a couple here - also some prints that could be layered up to create tatebanko.

Educational Colored Woodblock Prints

[billy.leliveld]

Very interesting stuff, thanks for posting all of you..
Back to the very roots....