A different use for a garden lantern

[Herb2]

Japanese garden lanterns often, I understand, have some sort of symbolic purpose: e.g. to give the impression of a light to illuminate a place in a Tea Garden or, placed on a promontory in a pond, to symbolise a lighthouse.

This one's been put to an entirely different purpose. We put it and the rock that it's standing on there to help hide a rather ugly electrical junction box right next to our front door......

https://www.pbase.com/image/55305541

[The Helpful Gardener]

Hi Herb,

That is a lantern I know as an tamate-so or an oki-gata. Can you help us with your Misaki definition? Is it a specific meaning or style?

Scott

[Herb2]

Hi Scott,

I've also seen it described as an oki-gata lantern. I got the idea somewhere that 'oki-gata' indicates that it's small & portable. The reason I used the word Misaki is that I think II've seen that name applied to this shape more often than 'oki-gata'.

Here are several web sites advertising similarly shaped ones & that appear to have adopted Misaki as the name for them -

https://www.cafepress.com/hakone/956858

https://www.japangarden.co.uk/Misaki-Lantern-Available-in-two-sizes-pr-42.html

https://www.buildajapanesegarden.com/water/shhlbrg.htm

https://www.nikkayuko.com/knowldg/lanterns.htm

https://www.devonian.ualberta.ca/kjglant.html

https://www.japanesegardensupplies.co.uk/pages/stonelan.htm

https://www.nebonsai.com/lanterns.html

https://www.jggarden.com/Lantern%20B.htm

Herb

[The Helpful Gardener]

Herb, I have always appreciated your prowess with the digital image and your willingness to take time to share with others. I hope you realize that the post on the other japanese gardening site is not me and I am doing no such thing; I would not have asked you here if I did not want you to come. Welcome...

Scott Reil

The (real) Helpful Gardener

[The Helpful Gardener]

I note all these Misaki-gatas have no feet at all; I wonder if that is where the difference lies in nomenclature?

Wish Yama was here; hope he shows up soon...


Scott

[Herb2]

I don't know what the definitive answer is. Saito and Wada's book (Magic of Trees & Stones) has a picture of this style of lantern at page 148 - and they call it a Rakugan lantern.

The Seike, Kudo and Engel book, 'A Japanese touch for your garden' shows three lanterns (at pages 49 and 50) all quite different, that it identifies as Oki-gata lanterns - and none of these has any feet either. Perhaps the absence of feet is generally a feature of portable lanterns? I guess that would make the 'Misaki' (or 'Rakugan') just a particular variety of Oki-gata?

Incidentally, 'The Magic of Trees and Stones' has a picture, at page 187, of a lantern style that I particularly like - I first saw one in issue No.28 (July/Aug 2002) issue of the Journal Of Japanese Gardening & it gave me the impulse to try to copy it. I just think of as a small pillar lantern, though Saito & Wada caption it as a Kakuashimoto lantern, but I don't recall seeing that name anywhere else. It's quite easy to make one like it in concrete or hypertufa, & if anybody feels like copying it, I have an album at Netsnapshot with some pictures showing various molds that were used.

https://www.netsnapshot.com/pcw/buildalbum-cgi?ACCOUNT=5431&KEY=11

[The Helpful Gardener]

Most ingenious Herb. At a much lower cost than bought stone...

I will finally meet Yama-san face to face this week at New England Grows, so I hope to get him here soon; he is a most excellent source of of info in these matters...

Scott