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A32 FEATURE
Wednesday 13 March 2019
Japanese spinning tops tell stories, aim for playfulness

nance that is reflected in
these tops, says Joy, whose
museum owns a collection
of Hiroi's work that Landis
brought back when she re-
turned to the US in 1995.
Edo is the old name for To-
kyo, but it's also the name
of the era from 1603-1868,
a period that saw the de-
velopment of a new middle
class with more free time
and spending money. This
resulted in an explosion of
the arts and culture. These
tops are part of that bigger
picture, Joy says.
Often, they contained
subversive commentary
about the ruling classes.
"There was a lot of sticking
it to the people who were
in charge," says Joy. This
This undated photo provided by ariTV/Carving Community: The Landis-Hiroi Collection, shows Michiaki Hiroi, who is part of the last
family still carving Edo-style tops in Japan. had to be subtle: perhaps
Associated Press a play that used historical
characters with parallels
By LINDA LOMBARDI resented, and whimsical the Second World War. His tory website about Landis to the present, or a perfor-
Associated Press scenes like two frogs sumo father made a living mak- and Hiroi, says that Hiroi's mance with elaborate tops
It once was thought that wrestling. ing the woodcrafts of that answer focuses on the tops' that actually told a story.
the Japanese tradition of More than just playthings, region, and Hiroi initially fol- spirit: "He's very insistent on One of Joy's favorites in
carving Edo-style spinning the tops were traditionally lowed in his footsteps. Then that when he talks about the collection represents a
tops had been lost. It turned used for street performanc- one day a collector who them: When people look at common figure of fun, the
out it had just gone on the es, and involve original cre- knew about the Edo style them, it brings them a sense spear-bearer who led sam-
road to northern Japan — ations, not just repetitive came to the shop and dis- of joy and playfulness," urai processions. Paintings
and some of it ended up in copies. covered who he was. "This That response might seem and illustrations mock his
America as well. "They have a very varied person said, oh my God, evasive or frustrating — self-importance. "His chest
While they're called tops, history across different so- I've been looking for you aren't you supposed to be is all puffed up, and he's got
these go beyond simple cial groups and classes," forever," says Curtis. able to identify a school a smug look on his face,"
spinning disks. Many are says Paula R. Curtis, a Ph.D. Hiroi was inspired to begin of arts or crafts from how says Joy. "You couldn't di-
more like carved, wooden candidate in history at the making the tops and tak- it looks? Not necessarily, rectly make fun of the sam-
figures, and might depict University of Michigan. "Part ing on apprentices. While according to Tamara Joy, urai, but you could poke
scenes with characters of it is the artisans putting the stereotype of craft ap- curator of the Morikami at them and their egos
that dance, transform or themselves into the work, prenticeships in Japan is Museum in Delray Beach, through this character."
fight. On one, an ogre dis- interpreting their experi- that they're hard to break Florida. For Japanese On Hiroi's top, the figure's
guised as a priest bangs ences and cultural back- into and not welcoming crafts, a style is often distin- spear moves around clum-
a gong when you spin his ground through these tops." to women and foreigners, guished by where it comes sily when his head is spun.
hat; on another, two discs One such artisan is Michiaki Hiroi didn't discriminate. from and who is teaching "You could see the same
illustrated with a dog and Hiroi. His was the last family One of his apprentices was it, rather than certain pat- character in a half-million-
a robber chase each other making tops in Tokyo when Janell Landis, an American terns or techniques. But the dollar painting," Joy says,
around. Figures from folk- they moved to Sendai in who came to Japan as a term Edo also has deep "and he made his way into
lore and theater are rep- the north of Japan after missionary and taught at cultural and historical reso- a top."q
a university in Sendai for 30
years.
When she became his ap-
prentice in 1982, Hiroi en-
couraged her to bring her
own experiences and cul-
ture to the craft. Where his
tops might represent a fig-
ure from a Noh drama, hers
included Huck Finn, Tom
Sawyer and Cinderella. In-
stead of Japanese folklore,
they reflected the stories
important to her, such as a
Christmas tree and a scene
of the manger with baby
This undated photo provided by Janell Landis/Carving Com- Jesus. This undated photo provided by Janell Landis/Carving Com-
munity: The Landis-Hiroi Collection, shows examples of exam- If Christmas is fair game as munity: The Landis-Hiroi Collection, shows an example of an
ples of Edo-style wooden tops made by Janell Landis reflecting a subject, then what makes Edo-style top depicting a courier, who appears to run frantically
American themes. a top Edo-style? Curtis, proj- when it is spun.
Associated Press Associated Press
ect manager of an oral his-