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A shrine maiden (巫女) at Katano Jinja Shrine (片埜神社) in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, displaying one of many talismans of good fortune available at the shrine’s Ebisu Matsuri (えびす祭) held annually January 9th-11th
Image from a January 5, 2020 blog article by shrine maidens participating in this particular festival
Japanese, Manen Gold Kobans (1860-67)
The koban (小判) was a Japanese oval gold coin in Edo period feudal Japan, equal to one ryō, another early Japanese monetary unit. It was a central part of Tokugawa coinage.
The Keichō era koban, a gold piece, contained about one ryō of gold, so that koban carried a face value of one ryō. However, successive mintings of the koban had varying (usually diminishing) amounts of gold. As a result, the ryō as a unit of weight of gold and the ryō as the face value of the koban were no longer synonymous.
In modern times, they are sold as Engimono (at-least, gold-foil cardboard versions), from Shinto shrines.
Provenance: Descended in the historic Wadsworth family, Geneseo, New York.
Courtesy: Cottone Auctions
@engimono said: " well, at least the music isn't terrible... " [ only if you want to ! ]
send in “ WELL, AT LEAST THE MUSIC ISN’T TERRIBLE… ” for our muses to be put in a situation where they have to slow dance together.
As much as the Future Foundation had endeavored to create a digital version of Jabberwock Island, some things hadn't been replicated as truthfully as they could've been.
Sonia had discovered that for herself the first time she'd journeyed to the nearby islands. While the arrangement and access had been the same, a strange sort of familiarity that she remembered doing and yet couldn't recall the color of paint used to decorate the bridges or the names of the streets written on the corner signs. But the buildings were there: the guest house, the shops, the library, the cinema. Places that she hadn't really ever explored in the simulation unless it was to look for traces of blood, weapons, or putting together the sequence of events that led to the deaths and executions of so many people she cared for. It was all made further alien to her that such freedom to explore had been unheard of in Novoselic even before The Tragedy, and that left her split between her natural curiosity and her heavy heart.
The former won out, but the latter tagged along, like a nanny or governess she simply couldn't lose no matter how many underground passages she took or garden hedges she hid behind. That was why she lingered at the Titty Typhoon, with its garish signage at the end of the road. The Neo World Program had prompted two things: a place where young people donned bright feathers and big shoes and danced the lambadas and a gathering place that gathered dust, spilled drinks, and decorations that had seen better days. But neither had proven to be accurate in the real world: there was no constant stream of loud music, of dancing, or even the grime and stickiness that such discos had been said to possess.
Instead, it was spotless, quiet, and fully stocked with all of the comforts Sonia remembered from Novoselic in times of struggle, in both dark and light versions. It was tradition that wine was for celebrating, to be consumed with food and in the presence of friends. But liquor, that was consumed by itself, alone or only in the company of those one trusted. Something to imbibe in when one needed to think or, perhaps more accurately, one needed to numb their pain and forget what ailed them.
It was no wonder, then, that when the rest of the survivors and Future Foundation found themselves busy, the former princess nipped away to the music venue. She could not play any instruments and Ibuki Mioda, like the rest of them, still lay in a coma, but the venue had quite the collection of pre-recorded songs on various discs and thus, after glasses of scotch or rum or vodka, Sonia thumbed through them with gentle fingers before finding the appropriate device to play them on. At first, some had been too loud, too piercing that hurt her head and she couldn't turn off the machine fast enough. But others she found more soothing, something akin to what she'd remembered her parents requesting for garden parties and cocktail hours: nothing that would be formidable enough to land itself on the playlist for a ball, but music meant to supplement good conversation and ease the nerves. Even if, at the present, there was none of the former and the latter was a challenge to come by.
Until she'd had the brilliant idea, two glasses of rum in, to slip off her heeled sandals and spin in her bare feet on the wooden floor to the music.
It wasn't quite dancing. The tempo was slow and unless one wished to look ridiculous, a partner was necessary. But the glossy floor felt slick and pristine beneath her feet, making it all too easy to turn in her summer-weight dress, one that fell to the knee in layers of lilac chiffon that spun with her as she twirled. No petticoats or hoopskirts, diamonds or heels. Just the pearls that adorned her ears and neck, light attire, and a gentle tune. Twirling with all the muscle memory she could recollect from years of dancing lessons, Sonia wondered that, after all the pressures and mistakes she'd made at Versailles, this was what Marie Antoinette must have felt like at Petit Trianon. But instead of a luxurious French cottage with fields of wildflowers and fresh milk every day, her refuge was a music venue that referenced breasts.
The times had changed. But not enough that when a monarch sought solitude, they'd be left in peace.
"Naegi-san?" She inquired at the shadow that darkened the venue's doorway, coming to a stop. It was only a matter of time until she was found, even with the few inhabitants currently conscious. But a recent meal, the liquor, and the music that reminded her of home had given Sonia a temporary sense of calm, a short time when her memories could be suppressed instead of flooding through her like an endless nightmare. She extended a hand towards him for him to take. "You've found my hiding place. Am I needed somewhere, or would you like to dance instead? Such a song is meant to be danced with a partner."
➟ @engimono pressed the ♥ !
“ you really think so ? ”
nagito usually wouldn’t question naegi - whose business was it to question someone on their choices anyways? - but this situation was a bit... different.
he’d never been too confident in his work in school, and being surrounded by such talent never failed to make him feel as if he wasn’t even close to living up to the success of his peers. he knew he got okay grades - the occasional a’s among the typical b’s and c’s - but was never explicitly proud of anything he’d achieved in his academic career. naegi, on the other hand, had always seemed bright, and even when he failed he did so with a smile - something nagito had always hoped to inherit.
knowing this, it was no question that nagito would bring his work to naegi. of course, it was just for a double - check that no errors were made... definitely not a tactic to achieve some semblance of praise from the other boy.
@engimono ( liked for a starter )
“𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬.” Still, Byakuya set the cup of coffee down on the table before him, turning some in his seat to better face Makoto. He wasn’t keen on having another issue forced into his hands, forced to juggle it with every other problem he was already carrying. It was the name of the game, however, and he steeled himself.
He sighed. “If you’re coming to me, you clearly believe there’s something I can do regarding the situation.” He crossed one leg over the other, pushing his glasses up by one corner. “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧? It better be a good one—I don’t have to go along with it.”
@engimono liked for a starter!
A deep frown sets upon the detective’s features. He was distracted, pondering over a case that he was currently trying to solve. The victim was a 38 year old CEO who died in his apartment. Forensics had found out that his beer was poisoned with cyanide. The only people who had seen the victim the night before his death had been his wife and two other men, one of which came to complain about the debts he owed while the other wanted to talk about business.
Shinichi already knew who the culprit was of course, he could tell by the way that person carried themselves and the way that they spoke was strange, but he needed to find solid evidence to convict them, but he just didn’t know what that missing piece was.
“Oof-!” Shinichi was knocked from his thoughts when he accidentally bumped into Makoto, causing him to stumble back and hold his head with a slight groan. His eyes blinked several times, settling upon the other young male as he gave him an apologetic and quite sheepish smile.
“Sorry about that, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you alright?”
@engimono || starter call!!
{ ♫ } ❝ you know, i think our class is the first class in hope’s peak to not have an ultimate lucky student... ❞
her mind had drifted off to other things in the middle of her conversation with makoto, and now she had realized that her class was the first to break this tradition.
what a weird choice... why break such a long-standing tradition with the 79th class? usually you try to shake things up on an even number...
❝ what’s it like, being the ultimate lucky student, naegi-senpai? being lucky must be a really interesting talent, after all... do you win lotteries a lot or something? find 4-leaf clovers without even trying? ❞
∣ ∣ ∣ ∣ ∣ ∣ ∣ @engimono ( makoto )
❛ can you really blame me... it’s still a little strange, seeing just how grown up you are now... it probably sounds weird coming from your little sister but, … I’m proud. it’s just like I thought, you really do seem more reliable now. ❜ komaru could see it. that hope everyone talked about... he really did have a way of inspiring others, didn’t he? even if she couldn’t compare to that, she didn’t mind. that was his talent. no, that was just who her big bro was. it made sense now, actually seeing him face to face, watching how he interacted with all the others... wow, she really was acting sappy, wasn’t she? toko would probably make fun of her for that, but again... she really didn’t mind, not right now anyway.
