Time for nostalgia: This morning I woke up and could not think what Paul had for breakfast each day, it worried me. On Sundays he cooked our breakfast, this would be a second breakfast for me because I would always have toast being an early riser.
In this picture he is laughing at me because I am nagging for him to hurry up, it would take him forever to cook, slowly, surely and methodically. You will see his lidded mug, Japanese of course as much of his household stuff was. I have always walked away from the great clutter owning a house produces but Paul had collections of stuff.
There was in the roof area of the garage, Japanese firemen's suits, heavy and they would have been soaked in water before the men tackled the fire. The four glass covered cases of dyes and minerals. Books galore, four enormous packets of special paper that supported one of his desks. He always wanted to make paper, and Middle Mill in Wales with its river would have been ideal.
The rest of the dyes can be seen here....
He had loved Japan as a country, but I think whereas I would have been happy in the outback amongst the mountains and trees, he would have been happiest in Kyoto.
I was interested in the dyes, not allowed to use the ones in the glass cases obviously but others I used on my spun wool. Natural dye material produce soft colours whereas the dyes you can buy in the little bottles have to be tested carefully.
This Buddha arrived from Australia one day beautifully packed and was to go on to a Continental auction house. He is placid and peaceful, as a Buddha should be of course, but though the photo is blurred the touches of blue shine through. On Japanese art there are the special stamps of the studio or artist who has painted them. On this particular one there were several and a computer expert from London came to photograph them and then enlarge on his computer.
Paul would say to me I never know what you are thinking until I read your blog. So like John on 'Going Gently' perhaps there is a rainbow bridge for blogs as well.
Love that Buddha. I have had a Buddha on my mantelshelf for the last seventy years - he is my most precious possession and my son feels the same about him. I always say the day I die he will disappear from his position in my house and within a hour he will hold a similar position in my son's household. I hope he passes down the generations. He is made from alabaster and was the first thing my first husband and \i bought together -- long before we married.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of them around trying to teach us calmness. Once a monk stopped at Paul's home in Japan, and Paul gave him just one grain of rice. I never knew why. But then it is like 'one hand clapping' a riddle maybe.
Delete18th/19th century Japanese fireman's suits were beautiful. I have only ever seen them in museums.
ReplyDeleteThere was also straw snow shoes as well Tom, and aprons with the name of what the store sold. Can't remember how the fire suits looked though.
ReplyDeleteThe V & A has a wonderful collection.
DeleteWell if I am ever in London will try to see them.
DeleteThe coincidences life brings up. In the sixties my cousin Barry high on drugs was brought back to the family home for Xmas. He bought me a Japanese book on art - Utamaro. I still have it. ;)
ReplyDeletePaul must have must an "if a job needs doing it needs doing properly" person.
ReplyDeleteI like the film and foil dispenser on the wall. I can't get the hang of the tearers of the packets and usually end up with a dog-eared mess.
He was a monk for a year at the temple, and when meditating should you nod off, a sharp tap with a switch by the master monk would wake you. Ten years apprenticeship taught him to lay his tools out neatly. Japanese ways are very different from ours Tasker.
DeleteIn one way Paul must have been a sensible breakfast chef - because he wore an apron. In another way he must have been a silly breakfast chef - because the apron was white! Paul's deep interest in Japan and its history makes me surmise that he must have had related academic qualifications. Am I right or am I wrong?
ReplyDeleteWell to answer you I must use his logo. He was born in Liverpool if I remember correctly and then the family moved south. So his beginnings were humble and taking that journey to Japan as a penniless student was brave. (but then it was the 60s!) He was proud of his achievements, so here is a copy of his logo minus the stamp.
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Studied art and design at Swindon School of Art, Wiltshire, England and afterwards Japanese painting and calligraphy at Kyoto University of Fine Arts, Kyoto, Japan.
In 1966 I was a lay monk at the Zen Buddhist temple of Ryozen-an in Kyoto and practiced under the guidance of its Director, Ruth Fuller-Sasaki and senior monk Dana R Fraser (co-translator of Layman P'ang: A Ninth Century Zen Classic).
Also present at Ryozen-an was the author and poet Gary Snyder. Gary Snyder was one of the first Westerners in Japan to study Zen Buddhism and was the inspiration for Jack Kerouac's book, The Dharma Bums.
I was assistant conservator (paintings) at Kyoto National Museum from 1969-1980 and Chief Conservator (Eastern Pictorial Art) at the British Museum from 1980-1986. Japan Foundation Fellow 1973-1974 and Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works since 1985.
His passion took him a long way didn't it?
DeleteHe was proud of his achievement from a working class background, though the year he lived as a monk he lived on apples and peanut butter with just a bit of money from his father.
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