Kai Awase

[Kagami Tomoko]

Sort of a spur of the moment decision, but in truth I have been thinking about making a Kai Awase set for quite some time. It just so happens that I recently came across some great looking shells and decided it was time to try my hand at some painting. While the final designs are still under construction, the shells are ready with their new coat of gold.

It's true, the shells are quite different in their exterior character but I still think they are quite lovely. I currently have 10 matched pairs for a total of 20 half shells but am looking to expand my set in the future. I will have to determine if I want to paint the pair of images using the natural pair or if I want to switch up the lefts and right of the shells to make it a bit harder to memorize the shells. Any thoughts from the masses?

Before continuing, a point of order: I also realized that I may have jumped the gun with the gold inlay on my set. A couple of well known websites mentioned that the Traditional scenes are not from the Tale of Genji and that these designs are most likely modern in comparison to an "actual" Heian set. However, in all the internet I can't find any examples of a surviving set and only have my assumptions of what a possible set might have looked like to guide me.

Ultimately it is my goal is to recreate a (smaller) Heian Kai Awase set and from my understanding, this means that the images have half a poem plus the imagery of flowers and other natural phenomenon rather than scenes from the epic novel. Does anyone have a good source to confirm?

Furthermore, I will need to build/procure a box with internal trays to house the final product but my brief research has indicated that the black lacquered boxes that I am used to seeing are from the Edo period. A conundrum indeed. 

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the process and I look forward to playing with some of you in the future.


Kai Awase - shell matching game by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

Kai Awase - shell matching game by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

Kai Awase - shell matching game by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

Kai Awase - shell matching game by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

Kai Awase - shell matching game by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

Kai Awase - shell matching game by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

[Deleted]

Jul 28, 2014 23:56:54 GMT -5 Kagami Tomoko said:

I will have to determine if I want to paint the pair of images using the natural pair or if I want to switch up the lefts and right of the shells to make it a bit harder to memorize the shells. Any thoughts from the masses?

It was my impression that one "proved" the pairing by taking the two matching shells and putting them together before placing them in one's stash. This is no doubt hampered by the paint, but I say stick with natural pairs.

Ultimately it is my goal is to recreate a (smaller) Heian Kai Awase set and from my understanding, this means that the images have half a poem plus the imagery of flowers and other natural phenomenon rather than scenes from the epic novel. Does anyone have a good source to confirm?

It's been a while since I did any research on this, so I don't have a goos source for you, but your understanding is the same as mine. That is, multiple poets and split individual poems. Groupings of multiple admired poets are pretty common in Japanese history, like the "Thirty-six Immortals of Poetry" series.

Furthermore, I will need to build/procure a box with internal trays to house the final product but my brief research has indicated that the black lacquered boxes that I am used to seeing are from the Edo period. A conundrum indeed.

It may be that that particular style of box is too late, but footed chests (karabitsu) are ancient and gilded lacquer (maki-e) was super popular in the Momoyama period, so similar items may be acceptable. For small collections, smaller stacked boxes without feet (jubako, jyubako) are plenty period. These days, people like using them for lunchboxes so you can even get them in plastic, though at the prices I normally see them for...

[Kagami Tomoko]

A quick update on the current kai awase set. I've been writing poetry and doing some sketches before diving into the final paint job. It certainly takes a bit more time than I anticipated!

Sketching Kai Awase by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

Sketching Kai Awase by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

So far 5 tanka have been selected and I've been doodling away. Each poem contains imagery from different seasons and are written with a different tone. I'm still trying to decide a few things for the final painting and am looking to experiment a little more on paper before diving in head first.

One item that is still up in the air is the placement and design of the text. Originally, I thought I would try my hand at translating each poem into hiragana and write the text vertically. However, I'm not that great at translation. I also found through my experiments, that the tanka usually became too long in hiragana compared to the original English (either vertically written or horizontal). Plus, no one could read the poems!

Sketching Kai Awase by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

I'm also sussing out if I want to paint the exact image twice versus painting a scene -OR- a the mirror of the image. I'm leaning toward the mirror image that way it gives me a bit of freedom from being exact with each stroke as I anticipate some difficulty painting on a concave surface. I think I will ultimately have to really space out the painting process in order to get the best result while keeping me sane.

Sketching Kai Awase by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

My favorite artwork doodle thus far is the frog. Also, cranes are hard to draw! Feel free to check out the rest of the work over at my flickr! Wish me luck

Sketching Kai Awase by sarahehthomas, on Flickr

Jul 29, 2014 6:42:24 GMT -5 @ishiyama said:

Jul 28, 2014 23:56:54 GMT -5 Kagami Tomoko said:

Furthermore, I will need to build/procure a box with internal trays to house the final product but my brief research has indicated that the black lacquered boxes that I am used to seeing are from the Edo period. A conundrum indeed.

It may be that that particular style of box is too late, but footed chests (karabitsu) are ancient and gilded lacquer (maki-e) was super popular in the Momoyama period, so similar items may be acceptable. For small collections, smaller stacked boxes without feet (jubako, jyubako) are plenty period. These days, people like using them for lunchboxes so you can even get them in plastic, though at the prices I normally see them for...

Ishiyama-dono, Thanks for the tip about the jubako boxes. I found a plain, 3 tier, black lacquered box that should do the trick at least for now. I might even break out the gold paint to add a little custom design on the top/sides. As the set grows, which it is my intent to write a tanka per event I attend (sort of like an informal diary) I might have to venture to learn how to make my own karabitsu. But that is for the future!