The story of our books: the colourful world
Interpretations below were written by the Portico Library volunteers as part of Bookends and Beginnings: Stories from our collections by our volunteers exhibition.
Hinamatsuri (Hi-na-mat-su-ri) Japanese Girls’ Festival
This illustration shows the doll set display with multi-tiered doll platforms covered with a red carpet. The number of the dolls can range from two main dolls at the top to an elaborate set of tens or hundreds depending on the girl’s family budget. The top platform are imperial dolls depicting the Japanese Emperor and Empress, lower platforms are musicians and various miniature furniture, lacquered food boxes and drawers.
Girls’ Festival is celebrated privately in Japanese households, unlike other festivities which expand to public spaces and temples.
Queer Things about Japan, 1903 by Douglas Sladen
“I have long been fascinated by Japan, so I was intrigued by this book with its curious title and was excited by the famous prints created by Katsushika Hokusai, the famous Japanese printmaking artist in the Edo period (1608-1867). The author, Douglas Sladen does not take himself too seriously and has a quirky sense of humour. He migrated to Australia in 1879 and became the first professor of History at the new University of Australia. He was in Japan during 1889-1890.
I was interested in the number of festivals celebrated throughout the year. Hinamatsuri, also known as “Feast of Dolls” or “Girls’ Festival”, is a religious holiday celebrated on the third of March in Japan.
Sladen wrote “When a girl-child is born into a decent family, a pair of historical dolls are produced for her…as soon as the baby can hold its historical dolls it can be trusted with them.” Although, nowadays the dolls are treated as a display rather than dolls to play with.
The chief joy of the girls during the festival is to prepare feasts for the dolls, so they have furniture and various festive dishes, such as multi-coloured rice cakes, a non-alcoholic sake, rice bowl in Bento box and many more.”
Karen Chancellor
The New Year Festival with Mochi in the Tokonoma
This illustration shows a spacious, traditional Japanese household reception room with an alcove where guests will be greeted. On this occasion, it is the New Year ceremony with a family paying respect to their elders. There is a Kagami Mochi, a decorative rice cake dessert placed at the back of the elders. It is a symbol of New Year and believed to bring good omens to the home.
Tokonoma, a reception room, is a room where items for artistic appreciation are displayed – in this room, there is an artwork on a paper scroll with the sun and trees. Beyond the paper sliding screens is the garden, with a cherry blossom tree branched out at the corner.
The laws of harmonious colouring, 1838 by D.R. Hay
“Hay on Colour is an intriguing volume to look at as it presents colour and art in a very different way to how it is typically presented now. Hay describes how to match and harmonise colours and decorate interiors, comparing this with the fields of music and science; focusing on how to create visual harmony.
This book also outlines how certain shades and tones should only be used seasonally or in certain areas of a house, which can also offer an insight into some of the domestic spaces of the nineteenth century. Overall, I believe this volume can remind us to look at art and colour as something that interacts with other subjects and the environments around it, that constantly surround us.”
Tia Blythe
