1) postcard of painting of a postbox from Wales with a commemorative Queen Elizabeth 2 Memorial franking & 3 language Air Mail seal
2) postcard from a dear correspondent in Gifu who’s postmaster always does a fantastic cancellation stamp (subject matter: motels around the world)
3) big envelope with collage art from Portugal with a fantastic oversize 4£ portfolio style stamp
4) a postcard i mailed to India that sadly, was returned because “mail to this region is not currently possible“ – keeping it on standby in the meanwhile
In my first era in Japan, 1992-3 in Tottori, I vaguely heard about a “western” writer who had lived in nearby Shimane prefecture, had taken on Japanese name/identity and whatnot in a time that very few foreigners were coming into Japan and those who were diplomats, business people or missionaries and generally centred around Tokyo or other big cities.
I learned more about this character named left Lafcadio Hearn (Patrick Lafcadio Hearn / Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χερν, later Koizumi Yakumo) and was completely intrigued. I couldn’t imagine how he chose this wonderful yet far-flung location, and the logistics of getting out there and getting settled.
Learning more about his life realized his fantastically interesting life with checkpoints in Greece, Ireland, the Caribbean, New Orleans, the American midwest west (with a then-shocking *mixed race* abandoned marriage), coming to Japan on assignment for a magazine, quitting the magazine and going rogue, later teaching at a university where his position was usurped by noted Japanese novelist Natsume Soseki.
So when I returned to Japan in 2018, top of my list (besides hanging out at Mac Kobayashi’s goat farm) was to go to his museum. As it goes, I arrived to treacherous weather, typhoons, rain storms, flooding, landslides follow by a heat wave – all of which made my illness a little bit rough but, along came a girl, the girl.
Ryoko met me in Matsue, (i’ll always remember her walking down the steps of the station with her floppy straw hat and me saying “how about a picnic?”) and indeed, we rolled by bus out to the two museums: one was his former house and the next-door was a museum which was not photo friendly.
But first, a picnic on the banks of the moat around the castle that he would have looked at every day, waving to the tourists going past in boats, taking snapshots of the statues, payphones, and post boxes before going into the house and museum (2 different places).
you know i had to document the payphone and postbox
Lafcadio’s own writing desk! This was a wonderful feeling
First off, the house was very pleasant to explore with his custom made writing desk which was surprisingly on tatami mats, and raised to accommodate his eyesight challenges. Around, the garden was well kept and in splendid bloom along with other pieces of his artwork, calligraphy and artefacts he collected and a friendly staff with a comment box.
various artifacts collected / created by Mr Hearn (as well as the comment box)other objects d’art in the homethe splendid garden!
postal coin banks, envelope-esque pencil / pen holder, paintings of post boxes in Vaticane and Olympia, Greece as seen at Tsuchida Cottage
As will no doubt be *not shocking* I have quite-literally hundreds of photos of post boxes around the world, as well as other postal type artefacts – from “still lifes” of writing letters, to random global stamps, to paintings of post boxes etc. etc.
postboxes in a magazine seen at, yup, the Shinogoze post office
While I made a book out of some of the artifacts {Post’d: Letters to Elsewhere}, most don’t have a “permanent home” here in this creative life archive and well, it’s a bit of a daunting task to do *all of this all at once* so sometimes a collection just sort of falls together around a theme and says (metaphorically, i hope) “hey, this seems nice” and here is one of those times.
postal code mark as seen painted onto the street
In this case, a few post boxes – both for sending and receiving – in and around my Tsuchida neighbourhood and Okayama at large, and a few other snaps that friends here sent me (i think, sometimes i don’t know if took the photo or someone else did, no offence intended if i mistook).
No doubt this post could go on and on but instead I’ll say, “Here are some postal items, please enjoy (and remix as desired)”.
simple, rustic delivery box in the neighbourhood
Note: i have meant to start participating in #postboxsaturday Twitter activity, maybe this’ll help me start.
Four portals of various kinds in Olympia Greece, 2017
a shrine, a payphone, a postbox, a directional sign / all nearby the original site of the ancient Olympic Games(since I’m here), here’s me at the original running track of the historic Olympics, nearby the portals documented above
Slightly mysterious Richard Brautigan postcard, postcard from a boxer in Gifu, lovely poetry book from a generational writer in Utah with block prints and stampsA brilliant anthropologist’s book about technology for kids, a four-color-process fanzine with bleeds, a beautifully produced poetry book (i want you to make one like this), a patch for my jacket or blanket, a packet of coffee prepared in a mailable satchel
Newest Postcard series for the “daveo postal club” members and other free radicals. Snaps come from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Australia maybe, other places as well but mostly tall slender red unit except the blue one, and the ones that are red but not post boxes.
such elegance and utility in the designs which somehow feel universal and unique at the same time
completely unrelated, half finished and lost painting (that was changed entirely) in Jamaica which appeared on a robot and posting here so i don’t forget it
Leaving the workers to their work as they switch to more “modern equipment” with nail guns to put down roof panels while we head to historic town of Katsuyama (noted for their handmade Noren door curtains among other things) where I’m going to hit up a noted post office to mail out this new batch of #DaveOStory dispatches. Yes im that obsessive.
Then onwards for a soak and stay at Yubara onsen (hot spring) which has an in-river outdoor public bath which you know i’ll be hitting up.
Gave the workers a “yorushiku” on the way out, key in lockbox, coffee/tea/snacks on standby.
Anyhow, small bags packed (for me old-timey suitcase with socks, talcum powder, fountain pen, stationæry & Gary Snyder’s mtns & rivers w/o end, meds, charger as most everything provided at hotel) ++ snacks & tea for the road, Billie Holliday on the stereo. Ichi loaded up with a giraffe & bear-cub hat. Ryoko at the helm. Sakura blooming.
The road is (part of) life.
Along with my wonderful mother and father-in-law, my adorable wife and remarkable baby, we took a little overnight trip to a nearby onsen (hot springs village) called Yubara, as well as a stop off at a all time trading post town of Katsuyama which still maintains a lot of traditional charm.
We stayed at a groovy old hotel, ate a ridiculous amount of food, sat in the moonlight on a rooftop garden tub and the next day in a communal bath with rock walls (like the actual rocks of the cliff outside) and finally in the outdoor tubs in the river (don’t showff!)
Along the way, we checked out an interesting art exhibit, popped into a variety of shops with handicrafts (Katsuyama is noted for its noren curtains) and of course, various post offices (indeed, moved Katsuyama and Yubara post boxes & office to a post of its own) and cafés, which – unsurprisingly of course – make up the bulk of my documentation: cute cafés, curious machines, amusing signs and sweet post boxes #theusual
Come along (more or less) – noting there are several, so settle in and i’ll remember to break em up somehow:
DaveO Postcards on offer at Rural Caprine Farm, Okayama, Japan
DaveO postcards for sale / Yep, I’ve hit the big time, art available at goat farms and displayed on refrigerators around the world. Note the promotional photo with Ichiro on my back.
Haiku postbox at Rural Caprine Farm, Okayama, painted Nov 2020
The “other side of the Post box“ ~ you’ve seen this before but ya know, the other side with yes, another haiku 5-7-5 (as is the tradition established by Kobayashi Issa) at Rural Caprine (goat) Farm, in Okayama Japan run by Mac Kobayashi.
Tending to tasks >> dropping letters in a boxes at Yubara hot springs village & Edo-period town of Katsuyama, Okayama.
Such fun to amuse the postal workers with my decorations and insistence on the most interesting stamps squeezed onto the scribbled envelopes and postcards.
Classic postbox in Katsuyama (classic main street trading town)
Yes, I do get rather excited every time I send these dispatches out to you and others (but especially you, really). You can get in on the fun at DaveO Shop.
PS Keen-eyed friends have probably already noticed the Nepal flag patch ^^
Bonus: collage of postal fun
tried to hide, didn’t work
details of classic post box
one more cause i love this hat, the specs sorta and the box for sure (and i’m a cornball)
While finishing up postcards series of paintings of international postboxes from Nepal, Greece, Oman and the Vatican, Dave gleefully riffs about the “finishing touches” including paper choices, inky stamps, Sri Lankan elephant dung paper, scribbly calligraphy letter, an extra card, something about art dossiers and even remembers to tell you he’s having fun and offers a couple of web addresses to get in the time travel.
