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<title>Mokuhankan Conversations</title>
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<updated>2026-08-14T22:14:21+09:00</updated>
<tagline></tagline>
<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations</id>

<entry>
<title>Washi History</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2026/08/washi_history.html" />
<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2026/08/washi_history.html</id>
<created>2026-08-14T22:08:24+09:00</created>
<issued>2026-08-14T22:08:24+09:00</issued>
<updated>2026-08-14T22:08:58+09:00</updated>
<modified>2026-08-14T22:08:58+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain">The photo you see here is not particularly 'interesting' - just a stack of washi - but what it represents </em>is</em> very much so.</summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[The photo you see here is not particularly 'interesting' - just a stack of washi - but what it represents </em>is</em> very much so.

<center><a href="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/images/2026_08/paper_stack_large.jpg"><img src="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/images/2026_08/paper_stack.jpg" width="450"></a></center>]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>Newspaper feature on Naho-san!</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2026/07/newspaper_feature_on_naho-san.html" />
<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2026/07/newspaper_feature_on_naho-san.html</id>
<created>2026-07-26T12:07:11+09:00</created>
<issued>2026-07-26T12:07:11+09:00</issued>
<updated>2026-07-30T05:07:04+09:00</updated>
<modified>2026-07-30T05:07:04+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain">Papermaker Naho-san was featured in a local newspaper a few days ago ...</summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[We heard from 'a little birdie' that papermaker Naho-san was featured in a local newspaper a few days ago - the Fukui Shimbun.

Here's an image of the story, followed by an English version:]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>Hokusai Reborn - Episode Two</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/03/hokusai_reborn_episode_two.html" />
<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/03/hokusai_reborn_episode_two.html</id>
<created>2023-03-24T18:03:36+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-03-24T18:03:36+09:00</issued>
<updated>2024-05-07T21:05:10+09:00</updated>
<modified>2024-05-07T21:05:10+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain">Next YouTube video has just been uploaded - it's the second episode in what will be an extended series discussing the Hokusai Reborn series ...</summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>Video</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[Next YouTube video has just been uploaded - it's the second episode in what will be an extended series discussing the Hokusai Reborn series ...

<center><iframe width="450" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6D_PunGp55g" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>The Screenplay: Scene 20</title>
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<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_20.html</id>
<created>2023-01-21T22:01:45+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-01-21T22:01:45+09:00</issued>
<updated>2023-01-21T22:01:48+09:00</updated>
<modified>2023-01-21T22:01:48+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain"></summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[[Dave: perhaps because of the lengthy gap since our previous episode, I was logged out from the openai site. After getting back in, I found that the Bot seemed to have forgotten about our story, so I tried to create a 'catch-up' prompt to get back on track, giving it: <em>"John is a foreigner living in Japan with his partner Mayu, and making woodblock prints. He has experienced many difficulties: trouble getting a visa to stay in the country, bad reviews at exhibitions of his prints, and rejection by Mayu's father, who is a famous printmaker. He and Mayu are discussing their future together. Create their conversation. Include something that will take this story in a new direction."</em>]]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>The Screenplay: Scene 19</title>
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<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_19.html</id>
<created>2023-01-12T21:01:44+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-01-12T21:01:44+09:00</issued>
<updated>2023-01-21T22:01:08+09:00</updated>
<modified>2023-01-21T22:01:08+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain"></summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[The prompt to the Bot: A lawyer is having a conversation with an officer in the Japanese Immigration Bureau. The lawyer wants his client (an apprentice traditional woodblock printmaker) to be allowed to stay in Japan, but the officer wants to 'play by the rules' and disallow this. The lawyer needs to convince the officer. Show their conversation. 
]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>The Screenplay: Scene 18</title>
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<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_18.html</id>
<created>2023-01-10T18:01:49+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-01-10T18:01:49+09:00</issued>
<updated>2023-01-12T21:01:07+09:00</updated>
<modified>2023-01-12T21:01:07+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain"></summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[Dave: OK, I think I see how we might be able to move this forward. Let's try to 'push' it in the direction we might like to go, but keep 'hands off' and let it actually write the thing ...  My next prompt gave some background information, and then set a scene:
<em>John (an apprentice printmaker) and his partner Mayu are having dinner with a retired laywer, a friend of Mayu's father, Shinji (who is also a woodblock printmaker). The lawyer is telling them about the time many years ago when he helped Shinji with some difficult legal problems.</em>
The Bot responded with:

<center>* * *</center>
]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>The Screenplay: Scene 17</title>
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<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_17.html</id>
<created>2023-01-08T17:01:04+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-01-08T17:01:04+09:00</issued>
<updated>2023-01-10T18:01:32+09:00</updated>
<modified>2023-01-10T18:01:32+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain"></summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[[ Note from Dave: my prompt to the Bot this time - 'write the continuation of their conversation, introducing a new character who may be able to help them' ]

<center>* * *</center>
]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>The Screenplay: Scene 16</title>
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<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_16.html</id>
<created>2023-01-03T10:01:33+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-01-03T10:01:33+09:00</issued>
<updated>2023-01-08T17:01:55+09:00</updated>
<modified>2023-01-08T17:01:55+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain"></summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[John and Mayu sat together on the balcony of their Tokyo apartment, looking out over the city skyline. The sun was setting and the sky was a brilliant orange. 

Mayu sighed and turned to John. "So, the visa was rejected," she said. 
]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>The Screenplay: Scene 15</title>
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<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_15.html</id>
<created>2023-01-02T10:01:17+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-01-02T10:01:17+09:00</issued>
<updated>2023-01-03T10:01:05+09:00</updated>
<modified>2023-01-03T10:01:05+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain"></summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[John and Mayu were sitting in the breakfast nook of their little apartment, the morning sun streaming in through the window. The letter from her father lay on the table in front of them. 
]]>
</content>
</entry>

<entry>
<title>The Screenplay: Scene 14</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_14.html" />
<id>https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/2023/01/the_screenplay_scene_14.html</id>
<created>2023-01-01T21:01:53+09:00</created>
<issued>2023-01-01T21:01:53+09:00</issued>
<updated>2023-01-02T11:01:14+09:00</updated>
<modified>2023-01-02T11:01:14+09:00</modified>
<summary type="text/plain"></summary>
<author><name>Dave Bull</name></author>
<dc:subject>General Interest</dc:subject>
<content type="text/html" mode="escaped" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://mokuhankan.com/conversations/">
<![CDATA[Shinji paced back and forth in his workshop, his mind racing with thoughts about the bad review in the newspaper. He was so proud of his daughter Mayu, who had been doing so well with John, but now this. He was sure that John was trying his best, but it was clear that he was not as experienced as Mayu. 
]]>
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