Japanese Wasen Model Display in San Francisco

Posted on November 6, 2015 by catopower

The latest Japanese boat model display by ship modeler Clare Hess is now on display at San Francisco’s Japan Center.

The display is located in the window of the community room of Union Bank, which is in the East Mall building of the Japan Center Mall in San Francisco.

Three models are featured this time around, making for a much more complete display than the last two, which consisted of only two models. The models are shown below.

Higaki Kaisen – A Japanese coastal transport from the Edo Period. This sailing ship operated in vast numbers between Osaka and Edo (now Tokyo), maintaining the flow of consumer goods which supported the growing cities economy.

Hacchoro – An 8-oared fishing boat used by the fishermen of the Daizu region south of Mt. Fuji. This model features the family crest of the Tokugawa Shogunate because many of these boats were said to have been commissioned as guard boats for the retired Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Special permission was said to have been granted for these boats to be equipped with 8 oars so that they could keep up with the Shogun’s boat. This is how these boats got their name, as Hacchoro literally translates as “8 oars.”

Yakatabune – These houseboats were initially owned by nobility for leisure use, but were very popular during the peace and growing prosperity of the merchant class. During the Edo period, it became common to rent a yakatabune to entertain guests or for viewing the fireworks at festival time or cherry blossoms in the Spring. These boats became a cultural symbol of growing prosperity.

The display runs now through the end of December, 2015. Ω

Ship Modeler

This week, I installed my latest display of models of traditional style Japanese boats at the Japan Center in San Francisco. If you haven’t seen it before and are in the area, this is a good display to check out. This time around, I added a third model to the collection, my Yakatabune model. So now, there is the Higaki Kaisen (1/72-scale), Hacchoro and Yakatabune models (both 1/24-scale). All three models were built from kits by Woody Joe of Japan.

The display will run from now through all of November and December in the window of the Union Bank community room, which is in the East Mall building.

One thing I discovered while setting up the new display is that this is a much better time of year to display the models. Because of the lower angle of the sun, the there is far less glare from the skylight above, making…

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NRG’s 2015 Photographic Ship Model Contest

Posted on November 5, 2015 by catopower

The Nautical Research Guild held their annual conference in Mystic, CT, at the end of October. While only one of our Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights members was able to attend to representing our group. At the NRG banquet, our group members took a larger share of the honors.

The winners of the 2015 Photographic Ship Model Contest were announced at the dinner event. All models entered into the contest received a ribbon based on total points earned in the scoring. The top models in the categories of Journeyman and Master received medals. Three medals, either Bronze, Silver or Gold, were awarded in each category, for a total of six medals, with Hyde Street Pier members taking home with 2 of the 6 medals.

Clare Hess, receive a Bronze medal in the Journeyman category for his model of the Private Armed Schooner Lively, 1813, while Paul Reck was awarded a Silver medal in the Journeyman category for his model of the Grand Banks 32, Willie II.

Clare’s Lively model is a 1:48-scale scratchbuilt model of a small, single gun privateer, typical of the early pilot boat model privateers of the War of 1812. The model was based on kit plans by the late Jim Roberts.

Paul Reck’s Willie II is a Grand Banks 32 that was built around 1978 and used by the St. Francis Yacht Club as a race committee boat. His model was built from scratch in 1:16-scale and is on display at the Yacht Club.

Watch the upcoming NRG Journal and the NRG website for a full report on the contest.

Note: This story originally referenced the wrong yacht club for the Willie II. The correct yacht club is the St. Francis Yacht Club, not the Corinthian Yacht Club. Thanks to David Wingate for catching the slip-up!

Clare Hess Reports on Edo Period “Hacchoro” Model

Posted on March 14, 2015 by catopower

Ship Modeler Clare Hess reports that his 1/24-scale model of a traditional Japanese fishing boat called a Hacchoro (Hot-Cho-Ro) is complete. The model, started in December of last year, is built from a Japanese kit with a few modifications. The boat carries the “Mon” or crest of the Tokugawa shogunate. History says that 24 of these boats were commissioned to provide escort for the Shogun’s boat. Due to restrictions on the number of oars that could be employed by the boats, they had a difficult time keeping up. So, special permission was given to increase the number of oars to 8. Thus, the name Hacchoro, which translates to “8 oars.”