Gene Is Captivated by Cloisonné (94)

     Gene has discovered a new-found delight in the Japanese art form of cloisonné  .  He tried to document each step of the process with photographs.  His letter to Beth continues with much enthusiasm.

Japanese man making a copper form for a cloisonné vase

Japanese artist designing the pattern for a cloisonné vase

Elderly Japanese woman grinding clay for the enamel on a
cloisonné vase

Elderly Japanese men applying glaze to a  cloisonné vase

Elderly man hand polishing  a cloisonné vase

A finished cloisonné vase offered by the salesman/manager

1 Nov. '45 [continued]
     They take the copper bowl (which product we saw being made at a separate place - a small forge, etc.  hand forging a prepared billet of some kind) and lay out a design.  I didn't see the silver wire being soldered on, however.  Then they put on a layer of clay and bake it.  An old woman was grinding the clay in a large mortar.  It has a pale lavender color to it.  She was sitting tailor fashion, as were the other workers.  This prepared, colored clay powder is placed in a small container and they apply it with a stylus to the design, concentrating on what they are doing!  Then it is baked and some more is applied.  Then the polishing, which takes days.  They polish it a bit on a power lathe and then start in by hand.  We saw one of the lathe and one being worked by hand.  One vase that was finished was about 10" across, bowl shaped.  It had this over-all transparent, shiny red color, far prettier than ruby glass.  On it was a dense pattern of tiny pink and white apple blossoms.  It had a sterling silver band on the top and bottom edges.  They all have that.  Well, that vase was ¥1200 or $60.  They don't give them away!  On that basis the great big ones must be worth $3000!  They had some smaller, tall vases started (like the one I finally ordered) and also a cigarette box that was a dream but not for sale.  It seems that only the old men do the work [other than the preparation].  It is terrifically monotonous, no doubt.  The younger mean-manager said for us to come back in a month or 6 weeks and they'd have some for me to look at.
     So we asked for other places and our guide asked him where to go.  We went thru another series of alleys, passing a Brig. General an party on a similar mission!  At that place they had a similarly shaped vase in blue with a chrysanthemum design on one side and a sprig on the other, and with a marvelous blue background.  It is amazing.  I though all cloisonné looked like my Chinese opium pipe, but here is a large vase in solid color, with a design (elaborate enough in itself - all shades and colors) on only part of it.  Well, that was ¥2200!  So we went looking for smaller vases.
     In another house they invited us in to a sort of display room and they had about a dozen vases just waiting the silver bands!!  These were about 15" high and typical vase shape.  They were in medium dark blue and in light blue.  I chose the dark.  On one side is an apple bough with pink and white blossoms and some pointed leaves like bamboo.  I think it is elegant.  It should be done for me next week.  Price is ¥450 or $30.  And furthermore, if I'm around here a month or 6 weeks and they have some of those red vases for $40, I'm going to get one of those!!  They give you a wooden box for each vase.  I'll pack it carefully and send it.  Now if they don't save it for me, I'll scream!

Blue  cloisonné vase Gene selected for Beth

     I took pictures of the old men working, but they were time exposures so I don't promise on them.  Next time I go out, I may take a color picture of the vases.  A good many of the houses there were of adobe or bamboo framework with adobe plaster.
     This building does have its troubles.  This morning the water in the toilets was off and the stuff piled up.  It seems there is a motor pump to force the water, but after a while they got it fixed.  They the hot water went off, but they got that fixed.  Yesterday an elevator motor burned out, leaving just one elevator.  I'm glad I don't have the job of looking after the building!

     All my love, Eugene

A Little Luxury (93)

1 Nov. '45
Beloved,
     This is really supposed to be yesterday's letter, but somehow, last evening, I didn't get to write you.  Yesterday I did a lot of leg work in my capacity as expediter but actually didn't have much to do.  Nothing new has developed except that the 5th Army has been building a fire under the 25th Division to get their eligible men and officers out.  The General Hospital is still supposed to get in very soon - possibly today.  The other hospital may be de-activated and give unto the 92nd new life and then move 35 miles or so away from here.  That sounds like bushwa to me!  But I don't care what cooks, really.

Japanese Waitresses

     To come to last night, McGinnis invited [Maj. ? Herb] Nigg, [Maj.?] Arnie [Niemeyer], [?]Stevens and me to dinner.  He is at Nagoya base and their field grade officers [major, lieutenant colonel and colonel] live in the Kanko Hotel, a fancy modern one that was untouched [it was built in 1936 in the heart of Nagoya as a state guest house, and even today is a luxury hotel].  My gosh - how the other half of the world lives!  At the door a Jap bell hop in a white bell hop uniform met us.  Several Jap girls in kimonos bowed us down the hall to the elevator.  There was a red plush carpet, fair sized foyer, etc., etc., even to a chicken colonel [full colonel] in a dress uniform reading his paper!  The Jap elevator girl understands floor numbers at least.  The rooms have the original hotel furnishings.  What luxury!
     The base men, as usual, seem to be a hard drinking lot and I didn't attempt to keep up to them.  We had dinner at 6:15.  The dining tables had dark colored cloths with reticular fringes [like net?] - rather odd.  We had a large amount of silver - butter knife, fruit knife, dinner knife, fish fork, fork, soup spoon, another odd shaped spoon and I'm sure something else I can't remember.  We had a thick soup, hard rolls, a fish cake with sauce (quite good - it was very fine grained), then what I judged to be sukiyaki.  Anyway it was meat cubes and vegetables cooked in brown gravy!  Then an ice and real demitasse [espresso coffee].  The kimono gals served and very well.  How they manage their sleeves, I don't see.  We had much light and witty (?) palaver.  4 nurses came in with their escorts.  They wore dress wool blouses and dark wool pants.  I suggested a dark wool kimono should be added to their wardrobe here in Japan!

From a Nagoya newspaper showing a photo of Maj. (?) Herb Nigg, and a ward in the 92nd Evacuation Hospital in Nagoya

     Later - it is now 11:30 A.M. and I've been interrupted.  Glory be - the 229th Gen. Hospital is actually unloading today.  They'll gradually replace our stuff with their own.  It should work out O.K.  We'll have the personnel from both hospitals for a while including 9 Lt. Col.s and 15 or more majors.
     Well, let's see dinner was finished.  Then we went to the bar and began drinking in earnest.  And again, I didn't pace the leaders.  We saw a reunion (after a weeks absence).  Anyway, it was entertaining!  I saw something I want for you, only like nothing I ever saw before!  It is made 10 miles from here and takes months to make.  I hope to go out there this afternoon so perhaps I can tell you more later.  It is a vase of cloisonné.
     Well, the confusion increases!  About 25 or 30 officers from the 2 gen. hosp. moved in.  5 or 600 of their men and the rest of their officers are going into the barracks area in the old castle grounds.  But you can jolly well be I don't worry my head over it.  Nigg is still CO and I just expedite slightly!  That old castle area is something.  It has a moat about 30 feet deep and a wall of a total height of about 30 or 45 feet.
     But I've more interesting items to ramble on about.  I think I have a present for you.  Back to last night.  I left the dinner silverware alone but just couldn't resist a cocktail spoon that has the Jap trade mark hotel name and Nagoya on it! [It must not have made it home, because I have never seen it!]  We came home about 10:30 and Arnie and Nigg were all wound up and insisted on talking till after 11.

Maj. Eugene Pfile in Nagoya

     Now, ahem!  The vase - oh yes, the vase!  A captain and I drove out about 2 miles beyond city limits.  We passed the biggest torii I ever saw.  It must have been 40 feet high and big in proportion.  We came to Shippo (the village) and could see no vase shops so we stopped at a bicycle shop and pointed to their charcoal brazier pot.  They nodded and sent out a young fellow.  He came back with a thick English-Jap dictionary.  So I hunted up "vase" and "cloisonné".  He drew a map on the ground.
     Meanwhile Culver [the aforementioned captain] found a Jap who could speak a little English and we took him with us.  We went another quarter of a mile, turned down a lane for that far, then took a narrower branch, and then a still narrower one!  We wound around houses and finally parked the jeep and walked thru another yard and there we were.  It was just a home with several rooms set aside for this work.  Our man talked for us.  2 old men were working on a huge vase - all of 3 feet high, and another old man at its twin.  They had practically nothing made up, but oh Honey, what they had was simply indescribable.  Their special color is red.  In other places we found it was blue, etc.

To be continued