I knew he hadn't yet started that job, so I went to see him today to show him the senshafuda concept, and see if he would take on this job instead of the Gift print. He didn't need much convincing, and said that he would like to do it. He's all booked up 'till the end of this month, but will keep the early part of April open for this.

That means that he may still be busy with his current work when it comes time to do the colour separations, but that's not a problem, as I know somebody else who is capable of doing that ... :-)

So we're all teed up! I next headed over to the (former) Yoshida Studio building, where printer Numabe-san uses the workbenches, to get some information from him on his latest project; he's starting up some classes for people who are looking to become pro printers (assuming he can find any such people), which are scheduled to begin next June. I'm making a simple webpage for him (in Japanese) to help him get the word out. To help with this, I took out my camera and shot some footage of him working on one of the Toshi Yoshida reprints they sell (this image).

I got just a couple of minutes of footage when the shaking started. I kept the camera running, but don't really have anything worth sharing with you. Once we all got outside I turned the camera on the buildings, but there really isn't any movement visible - just wires shaking back and forth.

But that put an end to the day's activities. The quake was strong enough that it was very clear the trains were finished for the day, so I just cancelled the rest of the program, checked a route on my map, and started walking home.

But I should also mention where I had been planning to go after the visit to Numabe-san. I had a dinner appointment with Seki-san, our senshafuda designer. We were first going to sign the second batch of Urashima Taro prints, then spend some time getting the senshafuda designs finalized.

This is too bad, because the weekend is her free time, and I was really hoping that I could get the 'final' from her by perhaps Monday. Chatting with her on the phone this evening, I arranged that we should try again on Tuesday evening, but even if we do get the details hammered out, she probably won't have time to actually do the work until the following Saturday.

Sigh ...

Anyway, we are moving forward, even though quite a bit more slowly than I had wanted. But all the dominoes are now in place ... umm perhaps 'dominoes' is not the best analogy ... All the 'pieces' are now lined up, and we're ready to roll!

This thread continues here ...