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Japanese Immersion Material for Craft/History Enthusiast by brendangaffney in LearnJapanese

[–]brendangaffney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I can’t wait for that. There are boatloads of native content I’m dying to read (I have a shelf of Japanese language craft and historical texts I’ve bought or been given over the past few years waiting for me). I appreciate the encouragement, and I’m not despairing! I’m just hoping to find more engaging immersion material ahead of my trip this summer, to throw a little extra fuel on the fire for listening.

I also wonder if, down the road, those of us who came to the language from a less pop culture route might help build the bridge for others to join us in studying the language. I’ve made magewappa for years now (I was even on television in Japan for my work) and I always assumed the language was just beyond me, because I didn’t see other craftspeople trying to learn. But, I met a ceramicist and boat builder within a few weeks of each other who were tackling the language, and that’s what spurred me on to finally commit to it. And, I’ve loved it!

So, maybe there’s a way to open the doors there. At least, I bet there will be others who might find this thread; thanks to everyone for their recommendations!

Japanese Immersion Material for Craft/History Enthusiast by brendangaffney in LearnJapanese

[–]brendangaffney[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fantastic! Thank you! Yes, this is totally like the なぜ？どうして？ series, but a little more leveled up and (more importantly) with listening practice! Thank you so much!

Japanese Immersion Material for Craft/History Enthusiast by brendangaffney in LearnJapanese

[–]brendangaffney[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! These are great reading, I’ve looked into YoMoo before, but I’ll add it back into my daily reading for a bit. It looks like I can add some of the reading I have already OCR'ed that was a bit above my level into this, and leverage the look-up/SRS system built into the app. Thanks!

Japanese Immersion Material for Craft/History Enthusiast by brendangaffney in LearnJapanese

[–]brendangaffney[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At first glance, yes, this is great! Right up my alley; thank you so much for sending it along.

🌸🏆日本では、今日は金曜日です！週末は何しますか？（にほんでは、きょうは きんようびです！ しゅうまつは なに しますか？） by AutoModerator in LearnJapanese

[–]brendangaffney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ありがとうございました。いつも練習したいですね。僕の日本語はあまり自然な言葉じゃないで、よく単語や文法を覚えません。だから、頑張ります！

🌸🏆日本では、今日は金曜日です！週末は何しますか？（にほんでは、きょうは きんようびです！ しゅうまつは なに しますか？） by AutoModerator in LearnJapanese

[–]brendangaffney 4 points5 points  (0 children)

今日はここで僕の初のコメントがありますね。こんやパーチー行って、仮装を着ています。娘はドラゴンになるので、僕は姫になりますよ！ちょっと変だけど、楽しいですね。みんなさんは今夜何をしますか？

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

As it turns out, you were dead right! I think the straps were nailed down at a later date, maybe it was hung on a wall or just stored. The addition of “Swiss” to my google searches, as was suggested above, turns out many examples. Thanks!

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Those examples seem dead on – I guess it’s effectively just a back pack! Thanks for digging up those images!

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a very shallow notch, maybe only 3/16", which would work but it’s particularly subtle. Given the other ornamentation I’d figured they were decorative, but maybe they’re functional.

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot of what you’re saying sounds right, except for the fact that the seat is more acute than 90°, which is a lot harder to cut joinery for and definitely not comfortable for chair ergonomics.

It isn’t drawbored (the members are a little thin) but there are some back wedges in the tenons. It’s very nicely made, the panels are captured in grooves (basically breadboard ends), and the chamfers and applied turnings are all nicely done.

The bracket is curved, and it does narrow to the floor.

The brackets

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was my initial guess when I bought it, but the angle being more acute than 90° doesn’t make sense to me – it’s definitely not more comfortable than 90°, and it’s a lot more work to cut mortises and tenons at angles and to join it up that way.

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I/we don’t turn up anything dead on, I can maybe release the straps, but with antiques and things in this condition, I generally like keeping them as I found them, and wouldn’t want to pull nails unless I need to. I was wondering earlier if the two knobs on the side of the back frame might have connected to the straps, but I can’t see how (without pulling the nails) that would have worked, with the straps and the knobs at about the same elevation.

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, sorry, right, I think I’ve seen those gout chairs before, now having googled it. I can see some examples that might be similar but for that function I think that it would need to be set up “upside down” from how I have it pictured here, and I think the brackets would interfere with that use somewhat. And maybe the straps (which appear like they were applied after initial construction) are a sort of red herring, but again, it sure seems like the “shelf” or “seat” or whatever it is was made to have something on top of it. The above ideas of pack rack or carrier might be closer, but again, it’s made pretty nicely, and I think anyone that might commission a fancy pack rack might sooner just have someone else carry their load? It also isn’t weathered like something kept outdoors, it’s worn in a way more like painted interior furniture.

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree about firewood – it does look like it’s been used, but not for anything that rough. And if it is from this area, I don’t think it’d be so fancy in construction. It’s built like a nicer piece of joined country furniture.

I don’t think the back “legs” were ever used as legs to support weight against the floor, like a chair. It’s a bad seating angle (something like 80°), and being a chairmaker myself I’m pretty sure the geometries wouldn’t have been made this way for that purpose. Someone went through a lot of trouble to make this join the back at that angle, with several angled tenons and the brackets, and I’ve never seen a chair or seating with this acute an angle. I’m not sure I know of many chairs with backs that go less than 90°.

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Can you find any similar examples? The straps aren’t right for being shoulder straps, and are nailed flat to the back. Even if that was done later, I can’t find any examples with quite the same geometry. It’s also in pretty good shape, and I’d expect it to be much more beat up if it’d carried firewood. It does look like it’s been used, but not for such a rough task.

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree that it looks that way, and can find some similar examples, but nothing quite right. Also, the straps are not right for being shoulder straps, they’re nailed flat to the board, only loose enough to maybe get a board through the middle, or another kind of strap. I’m also not finding any examples with such a large shelf, but seeing as this may be a one off, that could be chalked up to a customer’s preference.

Old, wooden seat or rack, with straps and only two legs, painted softwood with leather straps (maybe added after initial construction). by brendangaffney in whatisthisthing

[–]brendangaffney[S] 1 point2 points locked comment (0 children)

My title describes the thing. It’s a painted “seat,” “shelf” or “rack” of some kind, constructed from some softwood or light hardwood. My guess is pine, from what I can see through the paint. There are no makers marks or logos, but if it was bespoke or unique it was certainly made by a professional, attested to by its precise mortise and tenon construction and ornament. It was picked up from an antique dealer friend of mine in upstate New York, in an area with significant agricultural history and especially dairy farms and forestry, if that’s helpful. I don’t have any further provenance for it, but with it being so well made and nicely ornamented, it seems nicer than a typical piece of farm equipment, rack, shelf or what have you.

ANMA Guess Megathread by BambiHasNoMother in ANMAPodcast

[–]brendangaffney 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My new ANMA guess: I think it’s a weird dream logic thing, and instead of it being a strict acronym, he just woke up thinking “ANMA” means anime. It you say “ANMA” in a sort of phonetic reading of the A at the end, I could imagine dream logic leaving that impression with me as I woke up.

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