Hanafuda Making Workshops

[mrcrich]

Hi guys. I make handmade hanafuda cards for a living, starting with SHIKI 2 years ago. I also host really fun workshops in Japanese print and cardmaking that I'd like to get the word out about a little.

The background is that last summer I became involved in a research project about a very old deck of Japanese cards in the possession of the Museum of incredibly lucky to be allowed to do a (fast-lane) apprentice with Kenji Takenaka, the 5th head of Takenaka Mokuhan/Takezasado, one of the oldest (possibly the oldest) still active woodblock printers in Japan. Takenaka is also probably Japan's foremost expert on the use of kappa-zuri, that is, stencil printing, in ukiyo-e prints. Printing playing cards with stencils and brushes was the norm also in Europe up until more modern printing methods took over. In Japan, the technique disappeared soon after WWII, even as it was famously revived (if in a slightly modified form) by Matsui Tengudo, who unfortunately passed away in 2016, without a successor in place.

Kenji and I did 2 workshops at the Museum of World Culture in Sweden, where participants both stencil-printed their cards themselves, and "back-pasted" them, namely, pasted backing paper onto the backs which is folded 4 times to form a frame around the face of the card. Since then, I've also hosted the same 3-hour workshop by myself a couple of times in Kyoto and Kobe (two more coming up on July 22 but they're fully booked already). The decks you get to walk home with us very sturdy and while less careful participants often give the faces an "unintended charm" in form of occassional smudges and spilled ink, the cards are otherwise very professional looking and totally comparable to a Nintendo deck in terms of snap, backing paper, heft, rigidity, etc.

Here's some photos from some of the workshops.

I've been contracted to do 4 more workshops in Sweden this July, twice in Gothenburg at the Museum of World Culture, and twice in Stockholm at the Museum of Ethnography. It's a great time of the year to visit Sweden for those who are near/can afford the trip, but mainly, I just want to get the word out that I'm super interested in doing this workshop elsewhere with this post, almost anywhere, preferably at a university, museum or similar institution that is willing to at least pay for my flight ticket and accomodation.

[hsbc]

Direct links to the events (in Swedish) because I hate Facebook

Museum of World Culture (Världskulturmuseet)
Skapa en japansk kortlek!, 29 juni 2024
Skapa en japansk kortlek!, 30 juni 2024

Museum of Ethnography (Etnografiska museet)
Skapa en japansk kortlek, 06 juli 2024
Skapa en japansk kortlek, 07 juli 2024