v1.0.2, 2015-05-25
For the latest version of these notes, or to use the hyperlinks, go to
http://www.ikaga.org/notes/seireihen03.html
Title page stuff:
The sake from "Hosono Brewery" is a reference to YMO bassist Haruomi Hosono. Tai'an Overseas Trip is one of his solo albums.
Junmai daiginjo is a designation for sake, meaning that over 50% of the rice grains were polished away (daiginjo), and that no distilled alcohol was added in the process (junmai). This type of sake tends to be expensive (and, according to some, lacking in character).
The placard at top left is an advertisement for a toothache remedy. The placard to its right simply says "eyeball." The guy at the bottom of the page is the protagonist of Yoshiharu Tsuge's highly influential story Screw Style.
Bottom-right panel, "refreshing in summer: Izusan."
This is a reference to chapter 5 of Discommunication.
The wall scroll says "YMO Daimyojin." The other calligraphy says "Tong Poo" (Youtube).
This scene is quite possibly a reference to Imiri Sakabashira's one-shot "Conch in the Sky," which is available in Ax volume 1.
I haven't searched around yet, but this is probably a real train. Update: probably not a real train. It shares a lot of design elements with Japanese diesel and electric trains, though.
The readable characters on the wall in the last panel spell out "Hosono."
"Ataridori" ("correct bird") is an extra something that Ueshiba drew every so often. It featured chickens dressed as people or characters from manga, movies, fiction, music, and other media. The details and examples are on the inside cover of this volume (page 000d). Someday I'll translate that page...
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