Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-12-24
Che family Circle.
japanese Fdn-pictureS.

Many Of these faa-pictures are illustra-
tions OF national classics, fairy tales and
historic legends. On this neutral tinted
reverse, for instance, curved line dashed
across the disk is a slack rope, on it is
nondescript dancing, and below, a halt
kneeling figure represents the juggler or
Snowman. He is gesticujating wildly with
fan, his mouth Is wide open with we'll
simulated establishment at the antics Of
the creature on the slack-rope. This per-
former is like badger, yet it resembles a
tea kettle. Its body is this kettle one
cunningly curved paw is the spout, another
which swings the inevitable umbrella, is
the handle, and the tail and hind legs
form the tripod on which the kettle sits.
The story of the Accomplished Tea kettle
is very old, and numberless versions of it
form a staple dramatic, poetic, or artistic
diversion of the japanese. Briefly, it is
related that a company of priests, who
dwelt by themselves in a temple, were
afrighted by their tea kettle suddenly be-
coming covered VITA fur and walking
about the room. 1t bothered them very
much by It's pranks, being part of the time
a useful and sober culinary utensil and
partly miscnevous badger. Catching it
and shutting it up IN box, they sold it
to travelling tinker for a trlfe, think ne
themselves well rid of it, But the tinker,
! though sorely affrighted when he found
what a bargain he had gotten, shrewdly
put his bewitching tea-kettle to good &C
count He travelled far and wide exhibit
> ing his wonderful beast, which diligently
Y performed on the slack-rope. Princes
j and MOBILES came in throngs to see his
y show, and so he made himself very rich by
p his unique entertainment. The luck y
tinker and his accomplished tea-kettle
furnish forth adventures for the Japanese
play-goer as numerous and various as those
of our Humpty Dumpty, dear to the hear
of every English speaking child. On tn.
. reverse of another fan you discover al
Il illustration of fairy lore. A hare and a
"a badger, grotesquely dressed in watermen'
If garb, are each padding about in boats O,
/. a small sheet of water. They glare a
IF each other defantly, but the hare, notwith
:, standing he keeps his simple expression
IS seems to have the advantage of the other
ne The hare and the badger, in the story O
h the Cracking Mountain, were old foes
lie and had many tussle, in which the har
usually got the better of his adversary.
Finally the hare, having built woode
boat, set off on voyage to the capital O
Or the moon, inviting his enemy to accompa
I'd ny him. The wary badger refused, bu
ID building boat of clay. he followed tn
- hare. The waves washed the clay so tina
&c q it began to dissolve; then the hare, pad
33e ding his craft full on the luckless badger
70 crushed the sinking boat, and the wicke
st animal persisted miserably in the waters
In these fanciful pictorial conceits tn
japanese greatly excel, Hoksai,
Japanese artist, says an intelligent write
ir on Asiatic art, has modestly protested tina
se it is more easy to draw things one ha
r never seen than to represent objects wit
N which everybody is familiar. But thes
ed fanciful creations of the imagination ar
all so carefully and characteristicall
limned that they deceive by their realism
You think that these odd creatures mus
be have been studied from life You pay a
ut unconscious tribute to the artists wis
Interpretation of nature, for his fundamer
tai d.a is natural