week 5: blueprints

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In this week I will show you some blueprints of Karakuri doll. It is indispensable to leave the technology to after ages. And today I picked up two famous blueprints.

The one is called “Karakuri kinmou kagamigusa(からくり訓蒙鑑草)”. It is constructed from 3 booklets, Matsu(pine 松), Take(bamboo 竹) and Ume(plum 梅). 27 types of Karakuri devices are collected in Matsu booklet, and it are drown like illustrated book. Take and Ume shows those structures. “Takeda Karakuri” was a most famous Karakuri doll’s play in Edo era that was born in Dotombori in Osaka by First Oumi Takeda in 1662. He created solidly and realistic Karakuri, but Second Oumi Takeda created entertainment Karakuri. Like –

・  The instigator who hides in audience move Karakuri doll with synchronizing the voice of audience.

・  The child enter Karakuri doll and play the shamisen.

 – and so on.

“Karakuri kinmou kagamigusa” is said that Tagaya Kanchusen(多賀谷 環中仙) took up that “Takeda Karakuri”. Masterpieces in this book are Land ship car(陸船車), Brocade dragon water(錦龍水), The show box which has a doll blowgun dart(人形吹き矢を吹くからくり).

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Another is called ”Kikou zui(機巧図彙)”. It is written about outstanding Karakuri in technology, and so correct that the dolls are restored by according to this blueprints. It is constructed from 3 booklets. Frist take up 4 types – “wall clock(掛け時計)”, “belfry-shaped clock(櫓時計)”, “alarm clock(枕時計)” and “shaku clock(尺時計)”. Second and Third take up 9 types – “carrying tea doll(茶運び人形)”, “somersault doll(段返り人形)”, “drums and fifes child(鼓笛児童)”, “game cock(闘鶏)”, “fishing doll(魚釣人形)”, “ball acrobatics doll(品玉人形)” and so on. The author is Hanzo Yorihao Hosokawa (細川半蔵頼直) who is famous as a “Karakuri Hanzo”. He studied Western study of calendar making and created celestial globe, clock, measure. An extremely superior characteristic of this book is the point that mechanisms of Karakuri or mechanical clocks are illustrated in detail. About Karakuri in particular, all of that part – choice of materials, dimensions of the parts, the assembling method and finishing – are illustrated scientifically and finely.

Karakuri researcher Shoji Tachikawa praised carrying tea doll as a masterpiece of all Karakuri. And he reconstructed carrying tea doll with student group following Kikou zui. It showed precision of this blueprint.

In short, “Karakuri kinmou kagamigusa” likes puzzles, and ”Kikou zui” likes echnical reports.

By the way, I explain “Karakuri” as dolls or model, machinery in this week. Karakuri is classified roughly in “a detached room mechanism”, and “a thread mechanism” which moves originally with a thread and a spring spring, and a gear.