I just finished setting up Japanese wasen model display 9.0 yesterday. I was a bit late setting it up, which I had planned to set up 3 days earlier, but it was difficult for me to arrange my time this week for various reasons. But, it’s up now in the display window of the Union Bank community room inside the Japan Center’s East Mall in San Francisco.

Due to the sale of my Higaki Kaisen model, and to keep things manageable, I ended up scaling back to 6 models, plus a panel of photos. This fills up the display window just fine and allows me to set up more easily.

In fact, I have traditionally set aside 2 hours to handle the setup, but I must have become more efficient at it, as it only took me an hour to get the key from the bank, carry everything from my car, and set up the display.

The display includes:

• Hacchoro – 1/24-scale Woody Joe kit of a Yaizu bonito fishing boat.
• Yakatabune – 1/24-scale Woody Joe kit of an Edo period pleasure boat.
• Tosa Wasen – 1/10-scale Thermal Studio kit of a Tosa fishing boat.
• Kamakura period Umibune – a 1/50 scale model of a trade boat, c. 1300AD
• Urayasu Bekabune – 1/10-scale model of a Tōkyō Bay seaweed gathering boat.
• Kobaya – 1/32-scale model of a boat belonging to the Shōgun’s government.

Noticeably missing, at least to me, is a model of a bezaisen, or Japanese coastal transport, as I sold my Higaki Kaisen model last month and haven’t completed the Kitamaebune model yet.

The Kitamaebune will be ready for the next display, I’m sure. And, I do have another Higaki Kaisen kit. So, by that time, mabye I’ll have the second Higaki Kaisen model ready too.

One thing different about this display is that while I was setting up the display window, a cat wandered through the East Mall and sat out in front by the bunraku puppet display. While the cat didn’t specifically come and look at the display, I like to think that he or she brought by some good luck to the display.

The display will run through at least the end of October. Given that I was several days behind schedule on the setup, perhaps I’ll leave it up a little longer if the window space is available. Ω