Posted 2 years ago
kwqd
(1181 items)
These hashioki are about 3" long x 2.5" wide x 1" high and each is signed on the bottom "Yoikoh" or "Yoiko H". I am leaning toward "Yoiko H" but will not bet money on that. The bottoms are a rough, matte grind. I, at first, missed a note in Japanese which was stuck to the interior of the lid of the very plain white box that this set came in.
The note apparently relates to these hashioki and appears to be a personal letter to the mother of someone named Ryan. I got a rough translation from Google Translate Images. The note is signed "Silk":
"Dear Ryan's Mom
breath suddenly to be taken care of became.
thank you.
The work in the box is mine
Ladder made by my sister is.
Can also be used as a pepperweight.
It's a gift from the heart.
happy mother
silk"
These hashioki appear to be studio made, but I could find out nothing about the artist or any other examples of their work. The techniques used to make them appear to be quite advanced, complex to execute, even more so due to the small size of these pieces. The work is reminiscent of techniques used in making Murano art glass. I was hoping to find other examples of this artist's work. I was thrown off by the fact that they are signed in English writing, but the name and cultural orientation are Japanese. The closest I have been able to come in identifying this artist is an artist named Yoiko Hamaza from a single work in a cluster of works by various artists on a Japanese auction site. [Unable to find it again :o( ] I feel that this must be the work of an experienced and accomplished artist, so the lack of other examples of their work confounds me.
I struggled with how to construct this post as each of these hashioki is a unique, complex, three dimensional piece of art. I deleted my first post partially in frustration and partially unintentionally. The matte bases complicate and are problematic in getting good images from several viewing angles. At length, I finally constructed this very busy post which I am still not satisfied with. This effort became too much like work instead of fun!
I have a fair-sized collection of hashioki and seldom see them made by non-Japanese makers, excepting Chinese knock-offs and Baccarat (!) which makes some very expensive sets. I do have a few genuine Japanese studio made sets in ceramic or porcelain. I have a handful in art glass. Not sure if there is much interest seeing more examples of these.. Most kilns and glass houses, and many studio artists made hashioki.
Japanese hashioki are typically sold in sets of five or ten, though I have one set of twelve and a couple of sets of six but those are not boxed. I contacted several Japanese cultural centers and the best response I received was that the Japanese have historically produced items in sets of five or ten, though the reason for that is not known I was told. Most just did not know and did not hazard a guess. I found a lot of conflicting information, odd numbers vs even numbers being lucky or unlucky, the influence of Buddhism on Japanese culture, the recurrence of the number five in nature, the unlucky aspects of the number four, and on and on. rhineisfine had the best answer for sets of five hashioki and other dinnerware with the tradition that the sound of the number "four" in Japanese is close to the sound of the word for "death" and supported that with some literary examples of disposing of sets of five things when one was broken, so that makes the most sense to me for material objects. There is a whole phobia about the use of the number four in Japanese culture, but why not make sets in numbers of...... I give up!
https://www.tofugu.com/japan/number-four-superstition/
Here is a pretty good link to some information on the origins and use of hashioki and some great examples from a collector:
https://hashioki.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/hashioki-origin-timeline/
Calling these "Japanese Art Glass" because I think they are.
Pretty cool! Interesting.
Thanks for your comments, Deano!
Thank you PhilDMorris, Vynil33rpm, Deano and sklo42!
Wow, what a set!
Thanks for your comment, Karen! Not being able to identify the artist is driving me crazy...
Thanks for loving my chopstick rests, Karen, jbingham95, Kevin and dav2no1!
Beautiful set, lovely assorted colors
These are absolutely glorious, and I think you've captured their beauty in these photographs. Fabulous set and I hope you're able to find out more about the maker!
The reason for selling table sets (including hashioki) in sets of 5 rather than 4 is because the number 4 is pronounced "shi" which is a homophone for "death". Thus the number 4 is considered inauspicious -- whereas 5 is usually a sufficient number of [plates, bowls, hashioki] for most families. Incidentally, this is one reason you may see used Japanese "sets" of four for sale; if one of the items is broken, the set is now incomplete (and also inauspiciously-numbered), and that may prompt the owner to sell it. Of course, for us in the west, table sets normally come in fours, so we happily buy these incomplete sets. (There was a passage in one of the Rei Shimura novels where the main character, who is an antique dealer living in Japan, talks about selling such incomplete sets to western tourists.)
I don't know about sets of 10 (have never seen one), but I'm guessing that's just a natural doubling of 5-sets.
And I'm sure you know this, but hashioki are typically unpolished or slightly roughened on the bottom so that they won't slide around on the table when in use. If you ever come across a futaoki (lid rest used in Japanese tea ceremony -- looks a lot like a napkin ring), the matte/unpolished end is the one you place on the tatami.
Hah! Thanks for the information, rhineisfine! I will pass this on to the Japanese cultural centers, I contacted. I am surprised they did not know this. One of them was selling a marked Iwachu tetsu kyusu, did not know who made it and described it as a "kettle" and ignored my identification and suggested corrections, so maybe these "cultural centers" are not that cultural after all!
Agree, I have never seen a hashioki with a smooth bottom! I guessed that was to keep them from sliding around.. Thanks for confirming that.
The linked blog is to the amazing collection of hashioki of a woman who lives in Indiana!
Thanks for your comments, Jenni!
Thanks for loving my mystery hashioki set rhineisfine, Cisum, kivatinitz, jbingham95, Jenni, Drake47 and fortapache!
Here is another take on "the fives":
https://japanesestyle.com/japanese-culture-whats-so-special-with-the-number-5/
It has been awhile since I looked at this and think I eventually gave up on finding one answer because I found so much conflicting information. It makes perfect sense with material objects, however, when considering the practice of discarding sets of four, once five, things.
There are a lot of customs that don't necessarily have answers, or at least answers that are unanimously understood and accepted. The question might be, why *not* five? For us in the west, it's a prime number with few positive associations (numerology associates it with instability), but that is very much not the case in other systems. Five is (or can be) an auspicious and significant number in Buddhist cultures -- there are five enlightened wisdoms, five directions (when you include the centre), five elements, and so forth. It's possible, though just a theory on my part, that this may have had some influence on the acceptance of 5 for table pieces.
By the way, there's a book you should obtain if you can:_The Fine Art of Japanese Food Arrangement_ by Yoshio Tsuchiya. I think it would really enhance your appreciation of Japanese table pieces, especially pottery pieces. Right now I'm going to look through my copy to see if I can find a clear answer to your "five" question. Just reading the introduction, I came across this quote:
The more colorful and varied the "scenery," the greater the diner's pleasure. An Edo period cookbook called _Kasen no kumi-ito_ (1748) offers the following advice: "Take special care with color combinations, seasoning, and arrangement. First, omit none of the five colors: green, yellow, red, white, and black. Second, take all of the five flavors fully into account. (...)"
The "five colors" and "five flavors" mentioned here show the influence of ancient Chinese beliefs based on the principles of yin and yang, and the five natural elements: fire, wood, earth, metal, and water.
This philosophy gave rise to the bright colors and striking contrasts in appearance that are hallmarks of fine Japanese cuisine.
The five flavors are hot, tart, bitter, sweet, and salty; the five culinary arts, to serve raw, boil, grill, steam, and fry...
That's just from the first 2 pages! If I find anything else specifically about five, I'll let you know.
Another way of looking at it is, if you have a small family and/or one or two guests (and many Japanese homes are tiny, and I'm told inviting guests home isn't as common there as here), 3 is too few and 6 is too many, and 4 is bad luck. So, five :)
Very interesting! The "dreaded four"!
I will get a copy of the book you recommend..
One idea that occurred to me was that one of the five hashioki might be used by everyone for resting serving implements for communal pots and the other four for rests for individual dining implements. I thought about this too much! Doesn't really work for four guests, though, I wonder if the fourth child is doomed?
Huh, I had not thought about applying this to the number of people.....
Usually any chopsticks used for serving are larger ones (that are visually distinctive/can’t be mistaken for “eating chopsticks”) and are provided on top of the serving dish, in the same way you might include a large ladle with a punch bowl. I don’t think the serving chopsticks would ever go onto the table and thereby require hashioki. But I’d be happy to be corrected if anyone knows of exceptions.
P.S. About the book, it is quite pricey new, so you may want either to get a used copy, or buy it under its older title, _A Feast for the Eyes: The Japanese Art of Food Arrangement_, which is a good deal less expensive.
I found some webpages about elements of Japanese table settings -- pasted below -- although they're all fairly surface level. The book goes into greater detail on the subject of kaiseki cuisine, which is really the platonic ideal of Japanese traditional dining.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da1h6vaIjSY
https://als.net.au/pages/japanese-formal-dining-table-setting
https://journal.musubikiln.com/a-basic-guide-to-japanese-tableware-and-table-set-up/
https://backlane.net/2021/07/must-have-japanese-tableware-deciphering-the-different-uses/
https://group.bishamon-ten.com/the-various-types-of-japanese-dishware-and-how-to-use-them/
Anyway, I'll stop there -- they all include a fair bit of overlap,
Thanks for imparting more of your significant knowledge about Japanese culture, Rhine.
Such a great post and comments here.
Thanks for the tips, rhineisfine! I found a used copy of the first book for $24 shipped and the second book for $9 shipped. I seldom buy new books.
I will post two more hashioki sets tonight. I really like the Japanese concept of storage boxes, my main reason for collection those, not just for hashioki. Most of my set are in storage but if I come across some interesting ones, I will post them.
Really the best way to see hashioki is Mimi's blog which has hundreds of examples... Too bad she stopped her blog...
My eyes are changing suddenly after 20 years of laser surgery adjusted vision and it is very tiring to try to do close up work so between that and artificial lighting my images are not going to be too good.
Update: I was able to get a rough translation of the note that came with these hashioki. Added to the description above.
Ugh, copy of the expensive book ruined in the rain on my front porch. Cheaper book turned out to be a hardback in great shape!
Thanks for taking a look at my art glass hashioki, LovelyPat, inky and jscott0363!