Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain
January 27, 2012
October 28, 2011
Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain: November 2011 浜松町の小便小僧 23年１１月
Original site here: http://blog.livedoor.jp/auberginefleur/
archives/cat_50030113.html
* Click pics to enlarge!
The Boy Fountain on the platform at the JR Yamanote line Hamamatsucho station has been secretly Muslim and just came out of the closet?!
Nope, this was the Fire Department’s uniform worn in the Meiji period. As the plaque says, HB (Hamamatsucho Boy) is wearing a replica of the fire coat and cap worn by the Battalion Chief worn in 1891. How cool is that?!
The coats worn to protect from fire were at that time either black or dark-indigo woven in a wool material called jū 絨 (Russian weave? Carpet weave?). The white cap, also of wool, was apparently woven in a weave called rasha 羅紗 (a wool fabric originally imported in the late Muromachi period and used in Japan for Jinbaori and fire coats). Also, the word rasha apparently comes from the Portuguese word raxa. Who knew?
Sony Ericsson IS11Sから送信されました
* And it so sucks that the images are not turned right-side up on Livedoor Blog! Yeesh! Facebook is so much better at this!
* Now to fix it manually...
September 05, 2011
July 05, 2011
June 27, 2011
Hamamatsucho boy fountain: Friends Association
I happened to meet three of the "Friends" of the "Friends of the Boy Fountain Association" as they were dressing Boy Fountain this morning for July. They agreed to let me take their photograph, although one was shy and hid behind the fountain.
Yep, Boy Fountain is going to be wearing sunflower-motif clothes for this year's July as well.
Will post better picture of Boy Fountain himself next week. Stayed tuned...
May 30, 2011
May 16, 2011
Hamamatsucho boy fountain May 2011
Happy Boy’s Day (May 5th), a bit late.
(Sorry have been too busy to upload these pictures in a timely manner.)
Boy Fountain is appropriately dressed for Boy’s Day wearing a red bib-like traditional boy’s garment with a samurai vest in green and gold, topped with a (cloth) samurai helmet.
Carp swim upstream to spawn, like salmon, and in Japan symbolize the strength and perseverance one wants for one’s son. This year, these carp wind-streamers have also been appropriated to symbolize well-wishes for the recovery of the areas hit by earthquake and tsunami.
These well-wishes are clearly enunciated in the banners that were also up last month.
What Boy's banner says:
Front: Go! Eastern Japan! ガンバレ 東日本
Back: We’re all cheering for you.
みなさん応援しています
April 06, 2011
Hamamatsucho boy fountain: April 2011 〜浜松町の小便小僧〜
Ganbare Japan!Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain Prepared for Action: Off to the rescue for earthquake and tsunami, but musn't forget those cherry blossoms. It is April after all!
What Boy's banner says in Japanese:
Front: ガンバレ 東日本
Back: みなさん応援しています
I am not sure if Hamatsucho Boy is dressed for radioactive activities, or dressed as the mascot for the Tokyo Fire and Rescue Department, or dressed as some Japanese super hero I am unaware of.
If you are a late comer to this blog, the Hamamatsu Boy is a small fountain at the Hamamatsucho station on the JR Yamanote line in Tokyo. Every month his outfit is changed by a fan club devoted to dressing him. If you want to know more about him, see the blog post HERE.
If you want to see past pictures of Boy Fountain, go to archives: Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain
March 01, 2011
January 31, 2011
January 19, 2011
December 06, 2010
November 09, 2010
November 03, 2010
Blue Oshima Kimono 2 with Different Obi Bows
New attempt at tying obi.
This is the second time I wore this blue Oshima Tsumugi kimono and decided I wanted to try a more interesting bow in back because this obi seemed a bit plain to me.
Compare to previous--different obi-age sash and obi-jime cord.
The crimson obiage sash and obijime cord worn in the first attempt here seem to stand out more from a distance, than the maroon set seen above in the second attempt.
Maroon Obijime-Obiage detail* Click pics to enlarge
But upon closer inspection, the maroon set gives a more subdued adult-like impression appropriate for my age. Plus, I added an obidome accessory to the obijime sash, which has momiji Japanese maple leaves in red, green, and white. The obidome accessory bespeaks of the season of fall leaves, and I was hoping it would accentuate the leaves on the obi.
Original Obi Bow--Tsunodashi-fū 角出し風 I changed the style of the bow in back, because I thought the more standard O-taiko bow normally used for a Nagoya obi was a bit boring with this subdued obi last time I wore it (seen HERE). Now it looks a bit like a cellophane wrapped hard-candy or taffy.
O-taiko-fū Obi Bow お太鼓風* Click pic for link to how to tie this bow
The bow above I invented myself and adapted it from a way of tying a han-haba (half-size) yukata bow, similar to this O-taiko-fū obi bow seen in the pic to the left.
The difference is that in my bow, the beginning part of the bow called a “te” forms part of the ribbon bow, so after tying the ribbon bow, only the end part of the obi remains (the “tare”). Then I flipped the “tare” up under the ribbon-bow, pulled down in front, and then tied up with the obijime cord, almost exactly as seen in pictures 6-9 seen HERE, but with only one layer.
The fact is I really wanted to tie the obi in a Tsunodashi-fū style bow, but couldn’t remember how, and didn’t have the time or energy to look it up.
Original Obi Bow II--Ginza-Musubi-fū 銀座結び風So the next day on Sunday, I wore this same kimono and obi again to see a Kabuki play, the night before was just practice but I did wear it to show off at the Tansuya at Tobu where I bought the obi and then on to my yakitoriya.
Anyway, this time I really wanted to tie a Ginza-Musubi bow, but was still too lazy to look up how, so again I did the same ribbon bow to start, but instead of feeding the “tare” up under the bow, I just flipped it up as one would do tying a regular style O-taiko bow for a Nagoya obi. In both cases I used a soft Kyoto-style obi-makura cushion to support the bow. This time I tried to make the bow flatter to make it more comfortable for sitting in the theater seat, and I was hoping it would cushion my back in the seat, but it was fairy uncomfortable. I was also worried that a regular O-taiko bow fr a Nagoya obi would get all squished leaning back in the theater seat. I also wanted to dress a bit more downtown-ish (yep, shitamachi-fū), with a bit of Edo-style sass called iki, not that I can really carry this off well. The closest I have ever come is probably in this picture here or here, both Oshima Kimono.
Anyway, the Hassun obi was really too short for either of these original styles of bow tying, and in this latter attempt, the edges of the bows just barely peered out from under, and you can't even see them in this photo.
Kabuki Play with Nakamura KichiemonAnyway the play I went to see was a double-feature, Tempō Yūkyō Roku (Record of an Unruly Life) and Shōgun Edo o Saru (The Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu Leaves Edo), both modern plays (1st half of the 20th century) by the playwright Mayama Seika, and I only went because I am enamored of the actor Nakamura Kichiemon, who played the role of Hasegawa Onihei on the TV series in the 1980s based on the book Onihei Hankacho. I enjoyed the first of the two plays, but the second was really boring, mostly soliloquies, and I fell asleep, as did both people on either side of me.
Boy Statue——Not My Own (Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain)On the way to the National Theater probably walking from the Kojimachi subway station, but I don’t really remember, I passed this boy statue and took a picture.
* Note to self: Next time you go to the theater, wear a han-haba (half-width) obi tied in a kai-no guchi bow 貝の口 結び or a ya-no-ji-fū bow 矢の字風 with a haori jacket over.
* If you want to know how to tie a real Ginza-Musubi bow, see 銀座結び
* If you want to know how to tie a real Tsunodashi Bow, see The enigma behind the Geisha Tsunodashi musubi
にほんブログ村 * Click Logo for BlogMura Kimono-Kitsuke Blogs (in Japanese)--(And increase my ranking there)
October 04, 2010
Hamamatsucho boy fountain: October 2010.10.04
Autumn is Here! The weather has turned chilly, the leaves are changing, and the university fall semester has begun.
Time to get out the kotatsu (heated table) or hot-carpet, (see Avatar and Twitter).
Two essays for publication and a book to finish by the end of the year. Only three months to go, eeks!August 27, 2010
Hamamatsucho boy fountain: September 2010.08.27
Theme: Matsuri festival 
8/27 (Fri): Live Event near Hamamatsucho Stn. 第３回ハマサイト夏祭りHama-site Summer Festival ハマサイト夏祭り
* 2010年8月27日（金）18：00〜21：30
* Shiodome Building 汐留ビルディング Map
* Sone Yukie appearing live 曽根由希江
* Events:
◆ Bon-Odori 盆踊り 18：00〜、19：30〜、21：00〜
◆ Live Stage ステージライブ 18：45〜、20：15〜
◆ Appearing artists: ライブ出演者(予定)：PLATINUM、曽根 由希江 、ranai、ワカバ
◆ Food stalls グルメ屋台、お楽しみコーナー
9/11〜9/21, Shiba Daijingu matsuri 芝大神宮だらだら祭り
Link: More Boy Fountain Pics by Someone Else: JR浜松町駅 小便小僧 ギャラリー
August 02, 2010
May 31, 2010
May 10, 2010
Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain May 20100510 浜松町駅のの小便小僧 五月
Boy is dressed in premodern traditional baby clothes, the dress used pre-diapers for easy peeing. He is also wearing a newspaper origami warriors helmet, often made by children for dress up play, and of course models of samurai armor are often displayed in Japanese households for Boys Day on May 5th in hopes their child will grow up big and strong. The hanging carp flyers, often hung on the eaves of Japanese houses on this days, also contain the same hopes, as carp bravely swim upstream to spawn their young.
March 29, 2010
Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain 20090327
The cherry trees blossom and a new school year begins. Hmmm, same outfit as last year. Check it out for yourself in archives:
Hamamatsucho Boy Fountain
Oops, wrong! Noticed today at the station, the school boy suit is indeed different from last year's, which you can confirm if you click to enlarge the pictures.
