MINIATURE JAPANESE TABLE CLOCK, ‘MAKURA DOKEI’ Ca. 1850

M&R23

A MINIATURE JAPANESE TABLE CLOCK, ‘MAKURA DOKEI’
Circa 1850
Japan

Movement
The day-going, spring-driven chain-fusee movement or this Japanese table clock is situated in a beautifully engraved housing and consists of going and striking trains. The going train has verge escapement and a silk-suspended balance. The striking train is controlled by a countwheel and indicates the hours fully, going down from nine to four strokes on a bell. The half hours are alternatingly struck once or twice. The springs are wound at the back.

Dial
The elaborately flower-engraved brass dial has a revolving chapter ring. It is divided into twelve silver chapters for day and night time indication and twelve blued steel unmarked chapters for the half hours. A Japanese hour equals two European hours, the hours running from nine to four. The pierced blued-steel hand is fixed whilst the chapter ring turns.

Case
The brass movement of this Japanese table clock is constructed between bars, enclosed by brass top and bottom plates, connected by four shaped pillars. The balance is positioned on the top plate, surmounted by a pork-pie bell. The whole movement fits in a shitan wooden case, glazed on all sides so that the movement is entirely visible. There are three sound apertures at the top of the case. There is a slide at rear side of the case, which allows the removal of the movement. Under the brass bottom plate is a drawer for the winding key. The front can also be slid up to give access to the dial and adjust the hour chapters. The case is surmounted by a profiled brass carrying handle.

Duration 1 day

Height 16 cm
Width 11 cm
Depth 7 cm

Literature
– N.H.N. Mody, Japanese Clocks, Rutland, 1977
– W. Brandes, Alte Japanische Uhren, München, 1976

Note
Japanese time measurement is very different from its counterpart in the Western world. Instead of a fixed value for an hour the length of an hour in Japan, called toki is variable depending on the length of the day and night. Day and night are both divided into six toki, which lasts from sunrise to sunset and from sunset to sunrise. In summer the days are longer than the nights and consequently a day toki last longer than a night toki. In winter it is the other way around. This is the reason why Japanese clocks have sliding chapters to adjust the length of a toki. There are also clocks with a fixed chapter ring and a revolving hand. To regulate the lengths of the toki the weights on the foliot can be moved, which makes the clock go faster or slower. The hour numerals run from nine to four, the latter being midday. Japanese clocks indicate how many hours there are to come, whilst European clocks indicate how many hours have past. In Japan the figure 9 was holy. Each toki, twelve in total, also had its own sign of the zodiac, which were sometimes indicated on a ring around the chapter ring.