Kentoshi-sen by Glen McGuire - 1/400 - Bottle

[Glen McGuire]

Time for a new SIB project.  And this one has a deadline.  But I’ve got plenty of time since I just have to finish it before July.  About a year and a half ago, I reconnected with an old college friend and roommate that I had not seen since the late 80s.  He found out about my SIB work and asked me if I would make one that he could give to his wife for her birthday in July (hence the deadline).  We got to talking about what the subject of the project should be and he asked if I could do one with a Japanese theme.  He and his family lived in Japan for several years and loved the artwork and culture.  So he thought his wife would like something reminding her of their time in Japan.

 

I began digging around for historical Japanese ships that looked interesting or had a compelling story.  Surprisingly, I didn’t find a whole lot to choose from.  I’m fond of warships, but I thought one of those might not be the best thing for his wife’s birthday present.  I finally came across a ship that caught my eye.  It did not have the most compelling story behind it, but it had some really cool features and was very representative of Japan’s non-military nautical history. 

 

 

The picture labeled the ship “Kentoshi-Sen”.  With further reading, I learned that Kentoshi is not the name of a particular ship.  It translates roughly to “ambassadors dispatched to Tang”.  So it’s actually the name of the nautical expeditions carried out by Japan in the 7th century and the picture is representative of the types of ships used in the expeditions.  The purpose of the expeditions was cultural exchange with neighboring China.  During the Japanese Nara period and the Chinese Tang Dynasty of the 7th century, Kentoshi-sen ships ferried Imperial Japanese Envoys to China.  The Japanese envoys included scholars, engineers, diplomats, monks, court officials and merchants.  They would return from China with new ideas surrounding engineering, architecture, and vocabulary which had a significant influence on Japanese culture.  They also brought back items such as glass, musical instruments, textiles, scroll writings, and many other exotic curiosities. 

 

The cross-cultural exchanges began with 5 missions between 600 and 614 followed by 18 or 19 missions from 630 to 894. The last mission was in 838, thus ending the period of active diplomatic relations between Japan and China until the 15th century.  Current pictures of Kentoshi-sen ships (as well as a full replica built in 2010) are based on drawings from the Toseiden emaki scrolls dating back to the 7th century. 

 

There’s also a Lego version of the Kentoshi-sen available, so the subject not as obscure as one might think!

 

 

My goal for the project is to make the subject, bottle, and presentation authentic Japanese.  So for the bottle, I wanted some type of Japanese adult beverage bottle.  I searched all the stores around Austin but could not find anything suitable in my price range.  The cheap stuff all had frosted or opaque glass and the clear bottles were way too expensive.  Then I had an epiphany – eBay!  I did a search for empty Japanese liquor bottles on eBay and found one I liked for $20.  It was an empty bottle of Kujira RyuKyu Whiskey, single grain aged 20 years.  Out of curiosity, I did a quick search to see what a new (full) bottle would cost.  An eye-popping $400 - $700 depending on the store!  So an empty bottle from eBay it is!!

 

I was telling my son about the bottle and I mentioned that it had a cool picture of a blue whale on the label as well as the box the bottle came in.  He said, “Duh Dad.  Kujira is the Japanese word for whale.”  Oh.

Edited April 7 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

I’m starting off with my preferred laminated hull.  The Kentoshi-sen has a prominent upsweep at the bow and stern.  To get the desired shape, I boiled the layers of the hull in water for 10 minutes, then put them in my high tech press.  Afterwards, I glued them together and clamped.

 

Edited April 8 by Glen McGuire

[gsdpic]

Looking forward to following what I am sure will be another enlightening journey.   Interesting bit of history behind the choice of ship.   Sorry, but I have to ask, is the blue whale going to somehow figure into the presentation?

[JacquesCousteau]

Looks like an interesting build!

[Thukydides]

I enjoy these SIB builds. It is a very striking subject.

[Knocklouder]

Good luck on your journey with this build  Glen. Following along.  

Knocklouder 

[Keith Black]

 All's right with the world, a new SIB journey! We get to go to Japan this time. 👍

Edited April 7 by Keith Black

[Glen McGuire]

9 hours ago, gsdpic said:

Sorry, but I have to ask, is the blue whale going to somehow figure into the presentation?

Hmmmm.  TBD on that, Gary.  I had not thought of that, but it is a very interesting idea!

 

 

7 hours ago, Thukydides said:

It is a very striking subject.

I agree, Thukydides.  It definitely jumped out at me when I was searching around for a subject.  It will also present some significant challenges.  The bottle opening is small - just under 3/4" or about 18mm.  The banks of oars on each side will put the width well outside 18mm, so I'll have to split the hull down the middle.  The structures on the deck and the sculpted feature on the bow make it a rather tall ship too.  So I'm not yet sure how I'm going to engineer the thing to make it fit thru the narrow opening.  There may be a lot of assembly done inside the bottle.  We will see.

 

 

7 hours ago, Keith Black said:

We get to go to Japan this time. 👍

WOOHOO!  Google translate says the Japanese word for woohoo is YATTA!!      

[Bryan Woods]

I might use your build log on this one and use that Lego kit with this bottle I saw at the great American Junk Hunt:-)

 

 

I got small hands:-)

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, Bryan Woods said:

I saw at the great American Junk Hunt:-)

That is a cool looking bottle, Bryan!  You definitely should do an SIB with it!  There are other Lego ships you could choose too.  There's even a Lego ship in bottle kit!

[GrandpaPhil]

Looking forward to this one!

[BANYAN]

Another interesting subject here Glen, looking forward to it.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

Next to getting the ship in the bottle, shaping the hull is probably the thing I struggle with them most with these SIB builds.  And the hull shape is on this ship is quite interesting.  I found this youtube video where someone did a 360 degree view which is proving quite helpful.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn1IDvpRXVE

 

Here are some screenshots from the video.  The bow is squared off with the keel going about 3/4 of the way up.  The stern is also squared off with a poop deck of sorts extending prominently.

 

 

 

Here's the progression of work, doing my best to shape the hull to resemble the pictures.  If I ever go to the dark side of 3D-printing, this is the first thing I will try!

 

 

 

 

I also did some preliminary work on the 3 little deck houses.  After seeing the amazing work that @Keith Black has done on his tiny Lula furniture, I thought about asking him to make these for me!

 

 

 

Edited April 10 by Glen McGuire

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, Glen McGuire said:

After seeing the amazing work that @Keith Black has done on his tiny Lula furniture, I thought about asking him to make these for me!

 Thank you, Glen. If you lived here in Michigan I'd love to help but.... You've just started and one can already see the Kentoshi lines taking shape. Will you still need to split the hull?

[BANYAN]

Well Glen, I hope you have a supply of Saki in to help celebrate the milestones?  It certainly looks an interesting hull with those squared off ends.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

3 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Will you still need to split the hull?

No doubt about it, Keith.  And I'll probably have to drop those little houses onto the deck inside the bottle after the 2 halves of the hull are joined.  Yippee.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, BANYAN said:

I hope you have a supply of Saki in to help celebrate the milestones? 

Nope.  I'm sticking with the Bundy rum, Pat, and it's your fault!!  🍹🍹🍹

[Glen McGuire]

It's probably fixing to start snowing here in central Texas because I actually thought a couple of steps in advance on this project.  When I was bending layers for the hull, I realized I would need a matching bend for the bulwark and the oarsmen platform on each side of the ship.  So I bent some extra layers along with all the ones I needed for the hull.  Snow and me thinking in advance don't happen very often around here.

 

Here's the bulwark in work.  I took one of my bent extra hull layers, drew the outline for the bulwark, sanded the outside to shape, cut out the inside, and smoothed everything out.  You may also notice the odd deck planks that run perpendicular to the centerline of the ship.

 

  

Next was the oarsmen platforms.

 

 

Trying to decide what to do next, I figured I'd take on a real challenge (for me anyway) - making the ornamental bow and stern shapes.  I'm not sure what you would call them.  The one on the bow is not exactly a figurehead.  So if anyone knows the proper terms, please educate us.  

 

For the bow and stern ornamental things, I needed some very thin wood.  On @Keith Black's Lula log, he used some 1/64" birch plywood from Midwest Products for some of his tiny furniture.  I thought that might be just what I needed so I ordered a sheet.  It got here yesterday and I found it to be a really good product.   

 

I decided to start with the harder of the 2 shapes - the bow.  I drew out the shape on the plywood and used scissors to cut off a squarish piece around the outline.  Then I used a cordless handheld Dremel-like tool to carve the intricacies.  It was very delicate work because the plywood is so thin, but it did not splinter or delaminate.  The only downside I found was it created a lot of fuzz on the edges.  But I can deal with that.  I'm happy with the plywood product and how the bow pieces turned out.

       

 

These pieces make the hull structure way too tall to fit into the bottle's opening, so they will have to be affixed to the ship inside the bottle.  There is also a windlass of sorts that fits between the 2 pieces.  So I'll probably use it to connect the 2 pieces first, then install as a single sub-assembly.  Uh oh.  I think it's starting to snow again outside.

 

 

[Keith Black]

 She's really taking shape, Glen. I'm glad that you found the MWP plywood beneficial. For small scale structures and bits it's the cat's meow. 

22 minutes ago, Glen McGuire said:

I think it's starting to snow again outside

 Too funny. 

[catopower]

Glen, I'm really happy to see someone taking an interest in Japanese watercraft, and your Kentoshi-sen is looking great!

 

I've been focussing my own study of Japanese boats to mostly coastal and river craft, so I don't know much about the oceangoing vessels of the earlier periods. There seems to be much less info on those.

 

I recognized the term Kentoshi-sen, but don't know much about them. However, I do recall seeing a model at the Sea Folk museum in Toba, Japan, and I have a couple photos I took of it, if you're interested. A bit different from this one, though, and I don't know what information it was based on. 

 

 

[Glen McGuire]

On 4/15/2025 at 12:50 PM, catopower said:

I have a couple photos I took of it, if you're interested.

Thanks for the comment, Clare.  I agree that there is not a lot of info about Japanese ocean going vessels for the earlier periods.  When I started this project, I had a difficult time finding a historical Japanese sailing ship that was of interest.  I just went thru your Kitamaebune build log.  Very impressive work on an equally interesting ship!

 

Yes, please attach the pics of the model from the Sea Folk museum.  I would love to see them.

[Knocklouder]

I knew I had seen that bow before,  sorry buddy but it is hockey season  now lol. Great looking ship   .

Knocklouder 

[Glen McGuire]

4 hours ago, Knocklouder said:

I knew I had seen that bow before,  sorry buddy but it is hockey season  now lol.

I thought it was always hockey season up there in Canada!  Who knew that the ancient Japanese had an influence on Canadian hockey?   

[Glen McGuire]

Time to put some lipstick and perfume on this pig!  There's a lot of narrow, red trim on the outside of the hull as well as some thin, perpendicular slats that support the inside of the bulwarks (I'm making those white).  For the long piece of trim that travels underneath the oarsmen plank, I used the 1/64" birch plywood and cut a 1mm wide sliver.  For the red trim above the oarsmen plank, I cut < 1mm slivers of super thin maple veneer that's measure 1/128" in thickness.    

 

 

Here's an in process pic with the stern carving painted and in place as well as the trim beneath the oarsmen plank.  The vertical trim pieces above the plank are glued in place but not yet cut down to size.  You can see the keel in place on the square bow.  It looks a bit strange to me, but that's what the picture shows (at least one of them anyway)!  I also added a two-step poop deck.

 

 

 

Here she is with all the trim in place.  The large, ornamental carving at the bow is only taped on for the photo shoot.

  

[catopower]

Hi Glen,

 

Here are the pics, for what they're worth. The model scale wasn't specified, or at least I never saw it. It's a pretty good sized model, 1.4 meters long.

 

It's an interesting model. But, models in Japanese museum models are often very so-so in accuracy, I've found. They're often there just to give people things to look at. Scale can be way off. In fact, in this same museum, there's a nice model of a Japanese Edo period warship. It has figures on it in one size, and then a giant figure sitting in a chair on it, depicting the daimyo, or clan leader. 

 

Probably not much here you can use, but they're interesting to look at...

 

 

Of course, the term Kentoushi-sen is rather generic, and could refer to different ship designs that were all used as envoy ships at some point. Anyway, as you know, very little information regarding Japanese ships before the Edo period was documented. Most documentation seems to consist of an ancient scroll painting, and maybe a brief description.

 

But your model looks like it's coming along swimmingly, and I'm enjoying watching your progress!

 

 

[Keith Black]

Wowie kazowie, Glen. That looks fantastic!

[Glen McGuire]

17 hours ago, catopower said:

Here are the pics, for what they're worth.

Thanks for posting these, Clare.  That ship is remarkably similar to my Kentoshi-sen.  The upsweeps on the bow and stern are more pronounced than mine, but your ship looks like it's got the same footprint and it certainly has the same deck for oarsmen.  The 3 deck houses are almost identical and even oriented the same way.  There are some differences, like the onboard windlass vs mine where it's suspended beyond the bow.  Very intriguing!  Thanks again for sharing.