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Pillow Clock
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| SPCUntil the standard 24-hour day was
adopted in 1873, Japan used an "irregular" time system. In the Edo period
(1603-1867), a day was divided into the daytime, starting at dawn, and the nighttime,
starting at sunset. The daytime and nighttime were further divided into six even periods.
The length of a time period was, therefore, different between the daytime and the
nighttime, and changed with the seasons as well. The periods of a day were called
Ake-mutsu (dawn), ltsutsu Yotsu, kokonotsu (noon), Yatsu, Nanatsu, Kure-mutsu (sunset),
ltsutsu, Yotsu, kokonotsu (midnight), Yatsu, and Nanatsu. These 12 periods were also named
after 12 animals. SPCThis pillow clock is also called a Daimyo (feudal lord) clock and is very elaborate and gorgeous. It is portable and equipped with both an alarm and a calendar. A round device is connected at the top to the spring. It allows adjustment for changes in the strength of the spring as it ages. The clock is plated with gold and a lathe was used to the shape its four pillars. A beautifully engraved arabesque pattern surrounds the dial. The clock's gears are located between the front and the back brass plate. There are no covers on the left and right sides, allowing the clockworks to be seen from the outside. SPCWhen Commodore Perry came to Japan in 1853, he saw a clock craftsman wearing the Fundoshi (loincloth) and Chonmage (topknot) make an elaborate and gorgeous clock similar to the museum's pillow clock. In those days there were universities in the United States and Europe, but Japan did not even have elementary schools. When he saw the craftsmanship of the clock maker, Perry worried that an educated Japan could become a threat even to the mainland of the United States in a century SPCAfter the calendar was changed in 1873, Japan imported the pendulum clocks mass-produced in the U.S. As a result, previous Japanese clocks were no longer used. It is regrettable that many Japanese clocks were exported to the United States and Europe as works of art and only a few remain in Japan. SPCI saw many Japanese clocks and learned much of the above at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in 1965 when I was studying there. At that time, I felt a culture shock that the Japanese learned about Japanese culture in the United States. SPCThe pillow clock in this Museum was owned by the proprietor of a clock shop located in Yakage-cho, Okayama Prefecture, and first opened at Hondori Street in Kasaoka City in 1935. The Museum received this clock from its late owner in 1987, before the museum opened, for the education of children. One and a half centuries later, this clock still ticks accurately and we greatly admire the skill of the man who made it.. |
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