This top depicts a courier in premodern times traveling back and forth to deliver his messages on foot. When the top is spun, his legs swing back and forth as though he is running about frantically on his duties.
53 Stations of the Tokaido, Hiroshige, 1831-4.
Although a system of express messengers by horse existed from the late Kamakura period (1185-1333), with the vastly improved roads and greater safety in the Edo period (1600-1868), messengers were sent out by horse or by running on foot. They often wore straw hats or jackets to shield themselves from inclement weather. In the Edo period ukiyo-e print to the left, you can see a man with one of these hats, possibly a horse-riding courier, dismounting.
Below, you’ll find a video of Hiroi-sensei explaining the top in Japanese, along with a transcript in English:
*****
Hiroi Michiaki: This is, um, called a courier—what do you say nowadays? A postal [worker.] Umm, he takes letters and such.
Janell Landis: Ahh, yes yes yes. Mm. Mm.
Hiroi: He holds [his bag] here, and in the past, everyone walked, so the courier does this, [like] a marathon, in a way. He runs off going like this, and delivers [his letters] in various post stations in turn, and goes everywhere in Japan. A postal worker of the old days. When you turn this [part] these legs swing. Then it looks like running legs.
Photograph of Boyertown, PA by Skabat169 published under GNU Free Documentation License via Wikimedia Commons. Photograph of Janell as a toddler via Janell Landis.
This week we begin our regular updates with material on Janell’s early life, which includes an interview audio clip and transcripts. Separate posts are included in English and Japanese. We have also added five new top images in the “Collection” section, and starting next week we will introduce background information on each top, along with video clips and transcripts of Hiroi-sensei explaining his work.
Thank you for your support! Please share the archive with your friends. You can follow our regular updates via the “Follow” button below on the right, or like us on Facebook.
Welcome to Carving Community: The Landis-Hiroi Collection. 日本語でのごあいさつは英語のWelcomeメッセージの下にあります。
Carving Community is a digital exhibit and archive chronicling the friendship and artwork of two remarkable individuals. Janell Landis had been a missionary and English teacher in Sendai, Japan, for around 30 years when she met Hiroi Michiaki, an artisan specializing in Edogoma, or traditional hand-carved spinning tops. Janell became his first female apprentice and life-long friend. This is the story of their lives and the story of two cultures in communication through art.
[You can read more about the story behind this project and its creators in our About the Project page. 日本語はこちらへ]
Our intent is to archive and present Janell’s and Hiroi-sensei’s lives and accomplishments through new content, posted twice monthly, based on the oral interviews, photographs, and other media we have collected over the course of this year-long project. All content will appear in both English and Japanese. We will begin by posting interview excerpts about our subject’s early lives and photographs of Hiroi-sensei’s work in the coming months.
Though we are still working at the task of transcribing and translating the original oral interviews, our ultimate goal is to have full transcripts in both English and Japanese available for anyone to read for pleasure or academic research.
We are so excited to share this unique history with the world. You can help us achieve this goal by sharing this webpage with your friends and following our updates via the “Follow” button on the right.
Once again, we welcome you!
Back to front, left to right: Maeda (apprentice), Malina, Paula, Nisa (apprentice), Janell, Hiroi-sensei, Mrs. Hiroi.
Carving Community: 