桜井秀 - 風俗史家 年賀状 1933 エフ・エム・トラウツ

桜井秀 - 風俗史家 年賀状 1933 エフ・エム・トラウツ

Japanese Historian Sakurai Shigeru Postcard to F. M. Trautz

This card has a postmark from Komagome (Tokyo) dated January 5, 1933, with greetings in German and Japanese. Additionally, Sakurai writes: '昨年華族会館ニテ貴兄 - 御ツクリノ鞠ヲ見マシタ' (さくねん かぞくいん にて きけい おつくりのまりをみました / Last year, at the Peerage Hall, I saw the ball you made).

Sakurai is informing Trautz that he saw a ball (mari, 鞠) that Trautz had made at the Kazokuin (Peerage Hall) the previous year. The "ball" could refer to a literal object, perhaps used in traditional games like kemari (an ancient Japanese form of football), or it could be a ceremonial item, depending on the context. This suggests that Trautz crafted a ball that was either showcased or utilized during an event at the Peerage Hall, and Sakurai took notice of it.

"Peerage Hall" refers to a building or institution associated with the Kazoku, which was the Japanese peerage system established during the Meiji period. The Kazoku included the nobility class that consisted of five ranks: prince (kōshaku), marquis (kōshaku), count (hakushaku), viscount (shishaku), and baron (danshaku).

Although Trautz transcribes 桜井秀 as Sakurai Hide, we believe his name should be read as 'Sakurai Shigeru.' Sakurai (1885-1942) was a historian specializing in manners and customs during the Meiji to early Showa periods. In 1906, he founded a study group on the history of manners and customs with Seki Yasunosuke and Miyamoto Seisuke. He also served as a member of the Historiographical Institute of Tokyo Imperial University and as an official in the Library Bureau of the Imperial Household Ministry, during which time he published works such as 'History of Japanese Manners' and 'Study on the History of Manners and Customs.