Eagle Vs Octopus!
August 31, 2010
Victory Through Air Power is a WWII propaganda film made by Disney in 1943. This clip of the film’s final sequence shows American forces, represented by an eagle, fighting (and defeating) Imperial Japan, which is depicted as a giant evil octopus.
(via Vulgar Army)
Flickr Friday: Welcome to Kabejima
June 18, 2010
In 2007, my friend Stuart (aka, Flickr user TheKingInYellow) toured the Japanese island of Kyūshū. While there, he visited the town of Kabejima (pronounced “Kabeshima”) in Saga prefecture, which is apparently renowned for its squid.
Here are a few squiddy pictures from the trip:
"Welcome to Kabejima"
squid tank
Ika sashimi!
I don’t know what species of squid this is, but it’s pretty big…a good 1-1.5 feet long. At this particular restaurant, live squid are kept in tanks (shown above) and served, erm…just about as fresh as possible. Kind of gruesome, but I’m told it was quite delicious.
Sightings: cephalopod capsule toys by Takara/Tomy
March 1, 2010
Mr. Sardonicus sent me this sighting of a super-detailed line of Japanese gashapon (aka capsule toys).
He says,
Produced by Takara/Tomy, the complete set includes 10 figures (3 octopi, 2 cuttlefish, 4 squid, and 1 “secret” argonaut) and runs upwards of $75, but it’s not too difficult to find individuals being sold on eBay for $10 or less.
I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out for these. Thanks Brian!
paintings of antique Japanese octopus toys
August 12, 2009
Via Pink Tentacle
The Ningyo-do Bunko Database is a huge online collection of watercolor paintings by Kawasaki Kyosen (1877-1942). The collection consists of over 5,000 still-life images of antique toys and folk crafts from across Japan, including a few lovely octopus-themed items.
Paper octopus balloon (1930)
Roly-poly toy and bell/whistle, Aichi prefecture (1932)
See more at Pink Tentacle!
