Frilly Camouflage

* Frilly Camouflage *

Take a look at this photo
look carefully...
Do you see anything?
Look closely at that stick in the centre.
What do you see?

Let's come closer
See the legs and tail
of a baby frill neck lizard

He's keeping an eye on us
pretending he's not there
keeping very still

His little eye is following me
as I get closer
and bend down beside him

Look at his beautiful markings
such good camouflage
amongst the rocks
leaf litter and sticks

Can you see that from behind
he appears to have large owl eyes
and that flap of skin at
either side of his neck

can do this
when he is alarmed
and warning his foes off

Photo from abc.net.au/science/articles
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Ando Hiroshige

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Ando Hiroshige 1797-1858 was one of the greatest Ukiyo-e artists.

He describes himself thus:

Putting aside the moon and snow,
how delightful it is to live roundly
with a head more round
than a dumpling round and round!

Hiroshige was a man of strong features and a ruddy complexion. He was fond of his sake and loved fine dishes and this was evident in his portly appearance.


I learned about Hiroshige's work when I walking the Nakasendo Way as he is famous for his collections of landscape scenes along the Tokaido and Kiso Kaido Highways.

The Sixty Nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido feature many of the post towns on the Nakasendo walk.

Born into a low ranking Edo samurai family Hiroshige lived on the border between the samurai elite and the working class. His father was a fireman at the Edo castle and Hiroshige inherited this role at thirteen years of age when his father died.

Legend has it that Hiroshige decided to become a ukiyo-e artist when he saw the work of near contemporay Hokusai who published a famous set of prints called Thirty Six Views of Mt Fuji in 1832.

Hiroshige was fortunate to have been tutored in the Chinese influenced Kano school of painting by another fireman.

At age fifteen he was accepted, as per the practice, to be apprenticed to Utagawa Toyohiro, a notable Edo artist.

Owl on a Pine Branch


Making a boat ride on the crescent moon
the wind in the pines would love
to enter the long-eared owl's ears
- like the song of a harp

a kyoka by poet Hajintei

Hiroshige's early print making period concentrated on bijin - beautiful women, actors and historical figures. After which he made landscape prints of birds and flowers. This was followed by a period of landscapes featuring fashionably dressed women in the foreground and several series with historical and classical themes. He also made prints with humourous content and for practical purposes such as fans, envelopes, advertising, board games and book illustrations.

Grey Mullet and Camellia

Thunder
the mullet that sees in a whirl
the lightning flash of a hook
is frightened to death

The kyoka on the right by Toshinomon Haruki

But what Hiroshige is possibly most remembered for are his numerous (over 4500) depictions of the landscapes and towns from his travels. He aimed for realistic representation throughout all seasons, and the works were immensely popular. It was a time when internal tourism was booming and guidebooks abounded.

Seba - from the series - The Sixty nine Stations of the Kisokaido

Men poling boats past a bank with willows

Hakone- Travellers on a Mountain Path at Night

As the saying goes, speaking of clouds,
it also happens to people -
just when one approaches a mountain path,
evening falls

Fukien Mitsuhara

Hiroshige dominated printmaking with his unique brand of intimate small scale works, known for vibrant colours and unusual vantage points.

Autumn Moon over Tama River



I have been looking so long
but didn't see it come out of the mountains
there it is, without any dust:
the moon over the Crystal River

Shokasai




A Bonito


Fresh bonito tastes best
when you let it melt in your mouth
under the snow of Kamakura

Toshihiro Machikado



Karuizawa - from the series - The Sixty nine Stations of the Kisokaido

He also greatly influenced French Impressionists particularly Van Gogh and Monet.
So valued are Hiroshige's prints that history draws on his works to paint a picture of the Tokugawa - Edo period from 1600-1868.

The Plum Tree at Kameido
from the series- One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Just before his death Hiroshige wrote:

I leave my brush in the East
And set forth on my journey
I shall see the famous places
in the Western Land

The Western Land refers to the strip of land from Kyoto and Edo - the Tokaido but also serves as a double reference to the Paradise of Buddhist texts.

The Moon Seen through the Leaves


It is not so sad that maple leaves fall,
scattered on the moss-covered ground -
it is only sad when the wind gets chilly and rough,
and rain clouds darken the sky

Hakurakuten

Information sourced from Wikipedia,
and the book Hiroshige by Matthi Forrer,


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Bloomers

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Bloomers


Undies
Daks
Knickers
Smalls
Pantaloons
G String
Panties
Drawers
Pantalettes
Briefs
Thongs
Boxers
Gruds
Undergarments
Jocks
Y Fronts
Intimates
Codpiece
Buruma
Lingerie



Bloomers - 1850

Athletic Basketballers' Bloomers - 1902

Ladies Athletic Bloomers -1890

Thong or G string

Henry VIII's Codpiece

Japanese sports buruma


The Jock strap

Linen pantalettes

Knickers

Drawers

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No!

Bloomers,

Great
Big
Beautiful
Bloomers

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Kangaroos

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Kangaroo Info.

As a follow up to yesterday's post I thought that you might like to know that:

The word kangaroo comes from the aboriginal word gangurru meaning Grey kangaroo.


Males are called bucks, jacks or boomers, while females are named does, jills or flyers.

Babies are referred to as joeys.

A group of kangaroos is called a mob, a troop or a court.

Eastern Grey and her Joey

Kangaroos belong to the large family of macropods - meaning giant footed

My kangaroos are Eastern Greys. The largest is the Red kangaroo which can stand at 6-7 feet and weigh 200lb.

There are over 60 species of kangaroos, the smaller ones you may be familiar with are called wallabies.

The early explorers said of the kangaroo:

"He has a head like a deer (without antlers)
stands upright like a man
and hops like a frog."

He can hop over short distances at 70kmph, (44 mph), and over a 2km distance the kangaroo can travel at 40 kmph, (25mph).

He lives 4-6 years and is a strict herbivore, many are nocturnal.

The huge tail has three functions:

• for balance when hopping
• as a third tripod leg when sitting
• and as a 5th limb when moving slowly

A kangaroo neonate

The kangaroo is a marsupial - the female has a pouch. The fascinating thing about marsupials is that the female has two lateral vaginas and a third birthing canal! The male has a two pronged penis which inseminates the female through the two vaginas which lead to two uteruses.
The female can be permanently pregnant, except the day she gives birth. The embryo develops for only 33 days before being born and making the great walk to the pouch - which actually only takes about three minutes.

The kangaroo baby is born blind, hairless and only a few cms long. His back limbs are just buds but his stronger front limbs allow him to climb through the furry abdomen of the mother up to the pouch where he latches on to one of the four teats and begins feeding. The mother can produce two different types of milk. One for a newborn and the other to suit a bouncing young joey. The young can inhabit the pouch together.


After 190 days the neonate has become a little joey and can leave the pouch.

And after 235 days Mother kicks him out for good! Farewell Skippy...






The Skippy TV series was made in Australia between 1966-1968. The segments were filmed in colour, to increase marketability, even though Australian TV was black and white until 1975.
The series aired in the US and was also dubbed into Spanish and shown in spanish speaking countries.


Oh, and that clicking noise that Skippy made: "thck,thck,thck" is not made by kangaroos.



Information from Wikipedia
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Skippy

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~ Skippy ~

My son and finance recently moved to a new house on the edge of a golf course which abuts a lake where there is a large swathe of open land.

When we drove out to visit the other day I met two of the other residents...

Skippy

and Skippy's mother
who were enjoying a late afternoon munch in the sunshine.

I walked up towards Skippy and his mother watched me balefully,
grass hanging out of her mouth.

I was having trouble getting a focused shot with my little 'point
and shoot' and eventually mother tired of the game
and told Skippy it was time to...bound off...

First Mother

then Skippy

...across the road into another vacant verdant grassy area
where they abruptly stopped still, turned and stared at me
as if to say... "and what will you do now?" ...

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The Nakasendo Way * Part 6

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The Nakasendo Way ~ The Kiso Valley

We've got a long walk ahead of us today - about 22km. We leave from the 17th century Kaikokuya Inn at Hosokute - all of our gear has dried overnight in the drying room and we'll set off along the country roads passing through woodland and shady trees.

Hiroshige - Magome no eiki

After turning off the paved road we descend along a stone paved path. This section of the Nakasendo is said to incorporate the longest continuous stretch of original stone paving - ishidatami in Japan.



We take a gentle walk down to Okute, view the 1200 year old cedar tree and have our picnic lunch.



The kago or palanquin was a useful vehicle of transportation on the Nakasendo if you were a person of means. The coverings on the sides could drop down for to afford privacy and protection from the elements.

Photo courtesy of Old photos of Japan.com




The Nakasendo is sometimes referred to as the Princess' Highway. Princess Kazunomiya, at age 16, was forced to leave the imperial court in Kyoto in 1862 to become the shogun's wife and live in Edo. She was carried by palanquin along the highway accompanied by a party of 10,000 minders- attendants, maids-in-waiting and a guard of samurai. (A party of 15,000 went to get her.)




This vast train took three days to pass any one spot. It also put a huge strain on the post towns passed through as they were required to feed and house the party, provide horses, porters and men.
The day before the procession arrived the town had to provide 2500 porters and 200 horses and then 8000 men and 3000 horses were required on the day it was passing. The royal trip took 26 days to complete, whereas normally the highway would be covered in 21 days.




Men and animals would have to be drafted from neighbouring villages and peasant farmers were obliged to provide labour.




The Nakasendo now is a mix of bitumen pathways, forest paths, rugged rocky passes and small portions of ishidatami.

An unofficial Nakasendo traveller

In the Edo period the road was reserved for official travel only. Travel was restricted to members of the samurai on official business, the shogun's officials and messengers , the lords or daimyos, a few foreign diplomats and the odd pilgrim.

Hiroshige - Fukushima Barrier Station

To ensure that the average commoner was not out on the roads the law was enforced by way of the barrier stations which screened all travellers. However as commerce developed over the Edo period there was a rise in the number of merchants and local traders who took advantage of the route. Villagers also devised a sponsored pilgrim scheme to enable at least some of their villagers to see the world beyond their village.

Pilgrims

During the Edo period the shogunate initiated a policy of alternate residence duty for the provincial Lords - daimyos. For six to twelve months the Lord lived in Edo at court separated from his family, and then for the next six to twelve months he resided in his own castle. However wherever he was - his family was not... Sankin Kotai was designed to eliminate the possibility of a Lord accumulating wealth or influence and becoming a threat to the shogun. In order to maintain a level of respectability befitting his class the daimyo must travel with a considerable retinue of servants, guards, aids and advisers. This regular shuffle between Edo and outlying castle properties and the maintenance of two properties ensured that the daimyos spent at least 25% of their nett revenue on costs.
To avoid pressure on the highway system the travel of the daimyos was carefully scheduled. The policy of sankin kotai contributed to the growth of Edo which in 1700 became the world's largest city with a population of over one million people.

Ando Hiroshige 1797-1858

After traversing the thirteen passes, Jusan-toge, along picturesque ridges with distant views of the mountains, we arrive in the small city of Ena home to the Hiroshige museum, where next morning we view some of the prints in the series of wood block prints that Hiroshige was commissioned to make of the Nakasendo Way and try our hand at woodblock printing.




The inn at O-tsumago, a quaint hamlet on the outskirts of Magome post town , had a front entry opening of barely five feet in height. Perhaps this was to slow down unwelcome guests. Nakasendo towns often had multiple dog-leg bends in the approach road in order to slow the advance of invading hostile armies.

Through the front door, inside the dark living space, the fire burned in an open grate as it had done for over a hundred years. With the absence of a chimney the wooden interior walls had developed, over successive generations, a mellow amber glow.




The nearby town of Magome was a town attractive to tourists but balanced precariously on that fine line between authentic restoration and conservation- and Disney replication.

Oh who untouched by tenderness
can pass small white daisies
in the grass

Ho O



Hiroshige - Flowers



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