Higaki-Kaisen by Ekis - FINISHED - Woody Joe - 1:72

[Ekis]

A new shipyard opens !

A little history...
Two types of sailing ships, once used to transport taru (casks) of sake from Kamigata (上方, the present Keihanshin area of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe) to Edo (now Tokyo). Until the Meiji period (1868-1911), movement from the center of the capital Kyoto to other areas was described with the verb kudaru (下る, to descend).
For this reason, sake sent from Kamigata to Edo was known as kudari-zake (下り酒). Sake began to be shipped "down" in the 1600s, when it was sent overland by beast of burden, but it soon became necessary to switch to sea transport using sail in order to meet the increasing sales volumes.
In the early 1600s, more and more shipping agents were established in Osaka, and they transported Nada sake and other goods to Edo on their distinctive higaki kaisen crafts. These boats had woven bamboo railings (higaki) along the gunwales, to prevent loaded sake barrels from slipping on the unstable decks and to increase the loading capacity.

Because these higaki kaisen were designed for maximum loads without much thought for safety, sinking was an ever-present danger. Moreover, faking a shipwreck to allow the illegal sale of the supposedly lost cargo was commonplace. The trade became more and more lawless and in the early 1700s a new type of ship, entirely devoted to the transport of sake, appeared. These were called taru kaisen (樽回船, kaisen meaning a cargo ship). They were fast, stable, and elegant Japanese-style sailing craft, some of which by the end of the shogunate in the mid-19th century had grown to sizes capable of carrying 3,000 barrels.

In the late 1800s, they were supplanted by the arrival of Western-style sailboats and steamers, but their contribution to Nada sake sales was enormous until then.

 

 

The kit comes from Japan directly from the main distributor of WoodyJoe kits: Zootoys.jp. The scale is 1/72 and the wood is totally from Japanese species. It is perfectly designed and cut, with small numbered bags for each group of parts and a very illustrated assembly guide... but in Japanese for the texts! Google Trad is therefore mandatory to avoid making too much bullshit !

But maybe different for the final simply... Cool


The first pictures of the construction site :

 

 

Well, of course, those who know me a bit may wonder what I'm going to be able to transform in such a well designed and framed Japanese kit...
I think that visually, I will try to get closer to the representations of the period paintings. But for the moment, it's a matter of building a boat that is culturally quite far from our western habits. So, the decoration will come later to make my Higaki Kaisen! (even if I have to anticipate a little the result...).

[Ekis]

Most of the time, this model from Woodyjoe is left in its natural state and it looks great like that (see photos above)!
But, as I don't like conformity, nor the lack of additional creative touch, I went as usual to customize a bit...

The transformation consists in modifying this 18/19th century cargo ship into a Japanese daimyo's (lord of a province) prestige boat. This kind of boat existed to put forward some noble families and to establish the prestige with the others.
So black paint (Indian ink) and red (acrylic mixture of 2 reds) which will be declined throughout the construction: it is really necessary to anticipate each step... Not to mention the final copper decoration and a little weathering to age.

 

 

So, to give even more symbolism to this boat, I wanted to get closer to the shape of the Japanese torii.
The base is composed of a ceramic tea box pierced by two Japanese chopsticks (real!) which will support the boat.

It weighs a certain amount. But it will be filled with very fine white sand similar to Zen gardens (we might as well push the Japanese symbols to the end!), the whole thing sprinkled with a mixture of wood glue and water (a technique used for the medieval village) in order to definitively block the supporting rods.
And here, I think that the stability and the weight will be enough for the boat, itself quite light because of its assembly with hinoki (Japanese cypress).

We had to do this and drill the hull before attacking the very long deck lathing that will hide the bilge.
The final decoration of the tea box is still under construction...

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Ekis

[Ekis]

More about this bezaisen (coastal transport that I transform into a lordly yacht)!
The aft cabin is almost finished, the decorations are progressing.

 

[Ekis]

The rear deck is covered (but mostly unglued, I can't bring myself to hide it all, and I haven't thought about how to make it stay in place). The front cabin is done too, with a noren to close (Japanese curtain decorated with several vertical panels).
The side rails are in place, some personal decorations are missing.

 

[Ekis]

Last pictures of this week-end.
I was able to finish the main part of this higaki by putting in place the decorated bow walls.
I also took care of the base with this ceramic tea box and its 2 chopsticks from Japan. The tea box has a small traditional logo (Mon) that we will find elsewhere...
I will be able to start the decorations everywhere (copper plates, staples, etc...), then the rigging.

 

[Ekis]

Some progress on this boat!
The hull is almost finished:
- all the fittings are installed (the hull is assembled by metal staples that I wanted to represent), each crossbeam is protected in metal. The bow is entirely covered with metal too.
- the side windows are made of bristol board
- the awning of this yacht is in place
- the hull decorations (in polymer clay) are glued.

The base is also done:
- the tea box (painted with ink) and the Japanese chopsticks
- the box is filled to fix the chopsticks, to weigh and stabilize the boat with self-hardening clay
- closing the lid decorated with a mon (logo of a noble family) and a red polymer ribbon with a traditional sea motif.

 

Let's make room for the rigging with a sail already worked with a stencil...



The rest to come! 

[ccoyle]

Very striking colors -- love it!

[Montaigne]

Fascinating, beautiful build!

[Landlubber Mike]

Very cool!!  Great job on this.  I love builds that are unique!

[Ekis]

 

A few more details to dress up this boat...

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Ekis

[Ekis]

Well, this time, we are getting closer to the end of this project... So a small series of pictures ! 

 

[Montaigne]

I have to repeat myself: absolutely stunning build!

[Ghost029]

Absolutely outstanding!

[Ekis]

This boat is now finished.
I transformed and customized this WoodyJoe kit by adding color, an awning on the main deck, the creation of side windows, sculptures, a sail decorated with a "mon" corresponding to a real 18th century shogun, the hull fittings, a cradle from a traditional tea box, etc.
This kit is demanding, requires a lot of patience and especially rigor to respect the particular geometry of these old Japanese boats.
Here are the last pictures !

 

[Montaigne]

Congratulations on finishing a truly remarkable model, hats off!

[hollowneck]

Very nice interpretation. I’ve posted other compliments and comments in your gallery. This kit is nicely designed and offers lots of opportunities to make it one’s own as you have shown so well. Congrats!

[ccoyle]

Such an unusual and visually striking model -- congratulations!