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<i>Hikifuda</i> are advertising handbills that became popular in late 19th to early 20th century Japan. Showing the increasing sophistication of Japanese commerce, the handbills were produced to advertise a company or promote a product, and sometimes they were even used as wrapping paper.<br/><br/> While <i>hikifuda</i> began to be produced as woodblock prints in the late 17th century, they witnessed a boom in the later 19th century when they were cheaply printed using colour lithography.
Shadow play (Chinese: 皮影戏, pí yĭng xì) or shadow puppetry is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment using opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images. It is popular in various cultures. At present, more than 20 countries are known to have shadow show troupes.<br/><br/>Shadow puppetry originated during the Han Dynasty when one of the concubines of Emperor Wu of Han died from an illness. The emperor was devastated, and he summoned his court officers to bring his beloved back to life. The officers made a shape of the concubine using donkey leather. Her joints were animated using 11 separate pieces of the leather, and adorned with painted clothes. Using an oil lamp they made her shadow move, bringing her back to life. Shadow theatre became quite popular as early as the Song Dynasty when holidays were marked by the presentation of many shadow plays. During the Ming Dynasty there were 40 to 50 shadow show troupes in the city of Beijing alone. In the 13th century, the shadow show became a regular recreation in the barracks of the Mongolian troops. It was spread by the conquering Mongols to distant countries like Persia, Arabia, and Turkey. Later, it was introduced to other Southeastern Asian countries.<br/><br/>The earliest shadow theatre screens were made of mulberry paper. The storytellers generally used the art to tell events between various war kingdoms or stories of Buddhist sources. Today, puppets made of leather and moved on sticks are used to tell dramatic versions of traditional fairy tales and myths. In Gansu province, it is accompanied by Daoqing music, while in Jilin, accompanying Huanglong music forms some of the basis of modern opera.
From the 16th century, local currencies started to be made in Japan, with the minting of local coins, sometimes in gold. The Takeda clan of Kōshū minted gold coins which were later adopted by the Tokugawa Shogunate.<br/><br/> Hideyoshi unified Japan, and thus centralized most of the minting of large denomination silver and gold coins, effectively putting in place the basis of a unified currency system. Hideyoshi developed the large Ōban plate, also called the Tenshō Ōban, in 1588, a predecessor to Tokugawa gold coinage.<br/><br/> A common practice in that period was also to melt gold into copper molds for convenience, derived from the sycee manufacturing method. These were called Bundōkin, of which there were two types, the small Kobundō and the large Ōbundō. A Kobundō would represent about 373g in gold.
From the 16th century, local currencies started to be made in Japan, with the minting of local coins, sometimes in gold. The Takeda clan of Kōshū minted gold coins which were later adopted by the Tokugawa Shogunate.<br/><br/> Hideyoshi unified Japan, and thus centralized most of the minting of large denomination silver and gold coins, effectively putting in place the basis of a unified currency system. Hideyoshi developed the large Ōban plate, also called the Tenshō Ōban, in 1588, a predecessor to Tokugawa gold coinage.<br/><br/> A common practice in that period was also to melt gold into copper molds for convenience, derived from the sycee manufacturing method. These were called Bundōkin, of which there were two types, the small Kobundō and the large Ōbundō. A Kobundō would represent about 373g in gold.