Title:

金魚とふぐつり独楽 (kingyo to fugu tsurigoma)
goldfish and puffer fish string-release top

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These tops depict a puffer fish and a goldfish. They are both tsurigoma, or string-release tops, which are spun by wrapping a string carefully around the top as shown in the photo to the right. They are then spun by releasing the top with a sharp toss towards the ground.

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Hiroi Michiaki: And this is a string-release top… It’s a puffer fish and a goldfish.

Mrs. Hiroi: Yeah.

タイトル：

金魚とふぐつり独楽 (kingyo to fugu tsurigoma)
goldfish and puffer fish string-release top

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ふぐと金魚がテーマの独楽。両方とも つり独楽と呼ばれる種類の独楽である。右の写真のように独楽に糸を巻き付けて回す。巻き付けた糸を捻り素早く糸を解いて独楽を床に放すことで回転させることができる。

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廣井道顕：でこれはつり独楽…これはふぐと金魚だね。

廣井夫人：うん。

Title:

ひも絵当独楽 (himoe ategoma)
string picture roulette-style  top

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This is a roulette-style top, which is a kind of game. Someone spins the top in the middle, and the handle of the top lands on a particular picture. It is called a “string picture top” for two reasons. First, there is a string with which the top is spun which is also used to create an image (thereby “drawing a picture” with the string). The person who “draws” the picture then asks a playmate to guess what they have drawn. Second, the images on the front of the top’s base are created using a single line (contour line drawing), mimicking the idea of using the single string to create an image.

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Hiroi Michiaki: This is called a string painting, and these pictures, there’s a string you spin the top with. You play by making pictures with that string. Not only do you spin the top, but you draw a picture with that string and you ask “What is this a picture of?” and the children guess. Yesterday I made a picture there with that string painting.

Mrs. Hiroi: Yeah, you did, you did.

Hiroi: She looked at it but she didn’t know what it was at all. Hahaha.

Mrs. Hiroi: Yeah, somehow I couldn’t figure it out at all. But, ah, what is it? A ship on the water. Ahh, what do you call it? Fishers ride it, he made a picture of one fishing. You continuously place the string [down]. Knowing that, you’re like, “Ahh, I see!”

Hiroi: And this, it’s really difficult because you draw it with [only] one continuous line. Because it’s only one string. You do it like this without drawing and all at once go like this. Without stopping at all. This is string painting. This is, and, you can actually do it, using the string. It’s a string– roulette-style top.

タイトル：

ひも絵当独楽 (himoe ategoma)
string picture roulette-style  top

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当て独楽という独楽遊びの一種に使用される独楽である。真ん中にある独楽を回すと、独楽の軸が絵のどれかを指し示すようにできている。この独楽に『ひも絵』と名が付いているのには二つ理由がある。一つ目は、独楽を回すためのひもがあり、独楽を回すだけでなく『絵を描く』ためにも使うからである。二つ目は、独楽の土台に描かれている絵が、一本の線（一筆書き）で描かれており、一本のひもで絵を描くアイデアに合わせているからである。

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廣井道顕：これはひも絵っていって、この絵がね、独楽回すひもありますよね。あのひもでこう、絵を描いて遊んだの。独楽回すだけでなくて、そのひもでもって今度はこう絵を描いて、これ何の絵だ？って子供同士で当てっこして。きのうそのひも絵でそこ描いて―

廣井夫人：うん、やったやった。

廣井：みたけどさっぱり分んないね。へへへ。

廣井夫人：うん、なん、なんだか全然分かんねかった。だけんど、ほら、なんていうの？水の上の船ね。船の上に、あのう、なんて言うの、釣り人が乗って、釣りしてたとこをひもで書いたの。ひも置いてったの、ずっとね。そんで分ったの、あぁなるほどと。
廣井：で、これはだから、難しいな一筆で描くんですこの絵を。ひも一本だからね。こういうふうに描かないでもう一気にこうずーとこう。ずっと切るとこなしに。一筆で描く。これひも絵。これあのう、そこで、実際できるな、あのひも使ってな、ひもね・・・の当て独楽。

Title:

辰 (tatsu)
dragon

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This top depicts a dragon. Hiroi-sensei made this top coinciding with the zodiac year of the dragon. In his interview, he mentions that it is also related to the story of the previous top in the collection, “the one-eyed koi”, which is about a koi who wishes to become a dragon and ascend to the heavens.

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Hiroi Michiaki: This is the dragon from the [zodiac] year of the dragon. The koi, you know, wanted to be this. Heh heh heh. Do you get it? I’ll explain. Heh heh heh. I wonder if you got about half of it. Heh heh heh.

タイトル：

辰 (tatsu)
dragon

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辰がテーマの独楽。日本の干支、辰年の記念に制作した独楽である。インタビューの中で、このテーマがコレクションの一つである『片目の鯉』という作品に関連するものであることに言及している。『片目の鯉』は天に昇り竜になることを夢見た鯉の話がテーマの作品である。

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廣井道顕：これは辰年の竜。これになりたかった、鯉ね。これがね。へへへ。分かる？説明。へへへ。半分以上分かんないね。へへへ。

Title:

片目の鯉 (katame no koi)
one-eyed koi

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This top depicts a one-eyed koi. According to Hiroi-sensei, this image comes from a tale about a giant koi (nearly 2 meters, or 6.5 feet) that lived in the moat of the imperial palace. The story goes that the fish wanted desperately to become a dragon, and one day, because the rainfall was so heavy, he thought he could make it up to the heavens by riding the rain. But in the end, he couldn’t reach heaven, and as he fell back down, he crashed into the guardrail of a bridge and lost his eye. Hiroi-sensei thinks it might be a story originating from the Edo period (1600-1868). 　

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Hiroi Michiaki: And this is another [top] with an interesting story, called the “one-eyed koi.” If you spin this, it gets wrapped around here and the fish rises up to the top.

Mrs. Hiroi: Yeah, it goes around and around and around.

Hiroi: And this, long ago, um… the Imperial Palace, the place where the Emperor lives, in the moat there, there was a koi that lived in it that was about six shaku long, so about 2 meters. And… there was a story that the koi, he wanted to ascend to the heavens and become a dragon, right? And one day, there was really heavy rainfall, so at the time he thought “Ahh, I can make it up to heaven if it’s like this!” and he tried to ascend. But he couldn’t make it and he fell, and he smashed up one of his eyes on the guardrail. So he was the one-eyed koi. I heard from my father that the fish lived up until recently. Hahahahaha. And so I made that. I don’t know when the story is from, though. Probably from the Edo period. I think it’s probably a story from around where Tokugawa Ieyasu built Edo castle.

タイトル：

片目の鯉 (katame no koi)
one-eyed koi

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片目の鯉の独楽である。廣井先生の話によれば、皇居のお堀に住んでいた（２メートル/６フィート半もの）巨大な鯉の逸話が独楽のテーマの基である。あるとき、竜になりたいと強く願っていた鯉が、激しい夕立のあった日に、この雨なら天に昇ることができると考えた。しかし、最終的に鯉は天に昇ることができず、途中で空から落ち、橋の欄干に当たって片目を失ってしまう。廣井先生は江戸時代（１６００～１８６８年）からの話ではないかと考えている。

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廣井道顕：で、これはまた面白い謂れがあって、片目の鯉っていうんですけど。これ回すとね、ここに絡んで、この鯉が上に上がってくるのね。

廣井夫人：うん、ぐるぐるぐるぐるとね。

廣井：でこれはね、昔、あのう・・・皇居、あの天皇陛下がいる所の、あそこの堀に、昔六尺のっていうから大体２メートルくらいの大っきな鯉がいたんだって。であのう・・・それが、あの、鯉ほら、天に昇ると竜になるって謂れがあるよね？であるとき、ものすごい夕立があったから、あったときに、こんなら天に昇れるなと思って、でこう、昇ろうとしたんだって。ところが昇りきれなくて、落っこって、橋の欄干で片目潰れてしまったって。で、片目の鯉で。で、それがつい最近まで居たんだって、親父に聞いたんだけどね。はははははは・・・。で、それを作ったんですね。いつからの話だかはよく分らないんですけど。多分江戸時代、徳川家康が江戸城を造った辺りの話だと思うんですけどね。

Title:

釣鐘とび出し (tsurigane tobidashi)
leaping out of the bell

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This top is a type known as a “leaping top” and it depicts a bell. When it is spun, small tops appear to leap out of it from the inside.

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Hiroi Michiaki: This is called a leaping top.

Mrs. Hiroi: That’s a leaping top.

Hiroi: If you spin it, a teeny top suddenly jumps out of the middle. It jumps right out. Did Maeda-kun make one of those yesterday?

Mrs. Hiroi: Yeah he did.

Hiroi: Why don’t we show you afterwards?