Steve Forrest

@sforrest

Read teach eat run, bike write build. Traveller; always learning. Teaching (classical) Japanese at a public univ. in USA. Doing life and Japanese book history, etc. In diversity, strength; in equity, justice; in inclusion, an open welcome. LGBTQ+ 🏳️‍⚧️

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Steve Forrest@sforrest· 5d

Totally agree -- had a couple beauties here this afternoon, too. So luxurious, if kind of shy.

Rich, creamy white cumulo-nimbus cloud starting up from behind a single-storey building and a line of trees. The rest of the sky is summer blue.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 7d

(oops hit send by accident) It's apparently not 之, which I would have guessed. Here's the image:

page from same book, with same seal but this time printed as part of the origianl block, same black color, and fully visible.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 7d

...a seal -- a bit hard to make out where it overlaps with the printed text. At first I guessed it might be the original owner of the book, but then as I continued scanning I found a different version of the same seal, clear of text and easy to read -- thanks to the context. This other version...

Similar spread -- title page followed by first page of text -- from volume 2, with stamped seal added to lower right of title page. The underlying text makes two of the seal characters hard to see.

Close up of the seal on the title page. It's a round-shouldered tall rectangular seal with two columns of four characters each.

Another example of the same, this time the title page to the first volume. The opening page in this case is an illustration, an image of the globe with four smalller pictures around it depicting a city and various forms of communication: a steam train, a steam ship, a telegraph cable (with a man [messenger?] running along it), and a hot air ballon. Text above it reads: 蒸気、済人、電気、伝信.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 7d

Confirmed today that the ownership seal is in each volume, consistently placed at lower right of opening page each time. There are no other seals or markings in any of the volumes, as far as I could see with a quick skim, but on some of the title pages (not this one, as it happens) there is...

Japanese woodblock printed book open to show title page and first page of text -- ownership seal at lower right of that page, same as in earlier images in this thread.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 11d

Query for seal script 篆書 folks -- an early 20th C. (probably) ownership seal in my copy of Fukuzawa Yukichi's Seiyō jijō 西洋事情. Looks like 好古山蔵書印 to me, but the 山 doesn't match any example I've seen so far. Also could 好古山[人] be Kuki Bunnosuke 九鬼文之助? Any suggestions much appreciated!

lower right portion of opening page of vol. 3 of a woodblock printed Japanese book. Author's name Fukuzawa Yukichi 福沢諭吉 (tagged as compiler/editor _sanshū_ 纂輯) at bottom right, but next to it a red seal with six characters in seal script.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 15d

馬琴の読本もあるようです。北斎の挿絵はほんとうに素晴らしいもんで、時間があったらゆっくり読んでみたいなとおもいます。 source: kokusho.nijl.ac.jp/biblio/2000154…

見開きの挿絵：「石童丸、涙をそそぎ、母にわかれて仇をうち、父に環り会はむと請ふ」。

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 18d

Yes, exactly! There's a site with useful pics here: www.simoncars.co.uk/commer/commerp…. We had the first one initially, then when we'd worn it out my dad chose similar for the next one (ours were white and then blue; "Bluebell" had yellow headlight covers fitted for European travel)

newer (hard-sided roof extension) Commer dormobile.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 22d

Biked the canal-side trails today after work, a pleasure in the cooler weather we've been having. Stopped to watch a beaver swimming around in a sunny pool, then later had a kingfisher for company--chattering indignantly at me, then swooping further along the canal, repeatedly, till I turned back.

Many shades of green in a view up the canal showing mostly a grassy broad trail, edged with ferns, tall trees at the right, dark canal waters a few feet down at the left, with forested bank on the other side of it--all under a bright late afternoon sky.

View looking down the canal from the same spot: the grassy fern-edged trail curves to the right and disappears round the bend in the canal. Bright patches of sky are reflected in the water.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· 25d

Somehow it's Friday again, the weekend beckons, hooray! There was a bright sliver of moon in the sky as I headed to my car (off to the left of this scene) but it was the sky over the parking lot that caught my eye. 疲れたけどスッキリ。 #SkyPortrait

View of just post sunset sky, all streaks of cloud in orange and cream on a sky with a night gradient coming in from the top. Below is a mostly empty parking lot already getting dark -- a few cars are visible by reflections from their outlines, and beyond them a slihouetted treeline.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jul 7

Grey and showery here in MA today, but yesterday was bright and evidently just right for butterflies -- this one's a Great Spangled Fritillary (I *think*), attracted by all the milkweed blooming in our yard. #Summer2026

large butterfly with orange wings, dotted and barred in black, sitting with wings almost raised on a yellowed rhododendron leaf -- there are green leaves before and behind, and the butterfly is in a patch of open sun, with shaded branches beyond it.

the same butterfly with wings a little more spread open, showing the wing pattern more fully.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jul 5

Grateful to the 1654 editors of this _E-iri Genji monogatari_ 『絵入源氏物語』 for putting ALL the voice marks in -- it would make reading aloud so much easier (which may in fact be the point 🤔) (from the "Tenarai" 手習 chapter, available here: lccn.loc.gov/2004551302) #BookHistory #書誌学

screenshot of part of a page from woodblock-printed Japanese text, with highlight border round the word "yamazato" 山里 -- the second kanji has a voice mark to indicate the correct pronunciation.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jul 5

Out late in the day to try a new-to-me trail by the Chicopee river--couldn't resist cooling off with a wade in the water afterwards, joining others who had the same idea. Then treated to a lovely summer sky to end the excursion. Happy Fourth to all! #AmRunning #trails

View over a broad, still section of the dark waters of Chicopee river with a blockish stone construction jutting out from the wooded opposite bank, and a grassy island midstream. The sky is mostly cloudless.

another view from the same spot (a graffitied stone embankment that is visible in this image) looking upstream. The still water reflects a few tiny clouds and the treeline of the opposite bank. No people are in sight.

View from a bridge above the river, further upstream where it's narrower and deepset, with heavily wooded banks--looking towards a hulking factory/warehouse building on the left bank above which a creamy mass of evening sunlit cloud sits, with a few grey clouds looming over on the right.

More wide angle view of the same building complex, showing more of the sunlit clouds above it, and in the foreground the shallow waters of the river hurrying along, with some broken water before it deepens and gets still off in the distance on the right, beyond the buildings.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jul 1

Ouf, that got really pixellated in the posting -- sorry, it looks much better in the original! Please enjoy this delicate dog rose from the same spot instead.

Pine-needle covered small trail leading to to a railway line: a wispy bush with fresh green pinnate leaves has two pink, 5-petalled flowers with yellow centers.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jul 1

Company out on the trails this morning: noticed a turkey hen standing stock still on a side trail, feathers all iridescent, as I ran by, so I stopped & turned back to get a pic -- but she had vanished! So I took a few steps off the main trail, and lo! [video has no sound] #AmRunning

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 28

...which was maybe an offshoot of this larger reservoir that feeds a nearby town's water supply. Hadn't meant to be running there, but missed a turn on my planned route, and improvised. Earlier in the run, on a wooded mountain trail, I noticed that ghost pipes are already coming up. #Summer2026

View from a high rocky outcrop over an expanse of water under a clouded sky with sun coming in at right. The woods on the far side of the water are the ones I'm about to go and become lost in. The water is framed by pine needles at top, larger pine boughs at right, and beautifully sunlit fresh green saplings growing around the rock at left.

view of a small open section of a stream (draining from the reservoir) flowing among lilies and irises/sedges towards the stone-faced arch of a culvert under a country road. The scene is in bright sunshine, and a reflection of the road's crash barrier is visible in the stream's water (the flow is slow and gentle).

A cluster of white-greyish stalks of Monotropa uniflora thrusting out of layer of dried oak leaves carpeting the forest floor. They look a little like standard lamps.

Another dense cluster of maybe ten of these strange, tiny flowers, erupting as one through the oak leaf mulch -- a few leaves (of wintergreen, maybe) at left add a little bright colour to the picture.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 28

First time in ages, but I got well & truly lost a couple times during yesterday's run when old or expected trails petered out--a bonus of exploring new routes, need to do it more often! Stumbled across a lovely mid-woods pond here... #AmRunning

View across a pond in later afternoon sunlight, bright under a cloudy sky: the trees and grass on the far bank are reflected clearly in the still water. At top left there's a blurry flying creature, I think it's a deerfly -- they were everywhere, one got me on the knee just after I took this pic, ouf!

View of the foreground showing the surface of the same pond with some yellow water lily flowers just starting to open, and their flat leaves on the surface are contrasted by some spear straight and tall leaves (irises?) coming out of the pond at the right.

Close up of two lily flowers among a mix of leaves at the ponds edge. A hurried shot as I was about to flee the onslaught of the deerflies (bugspray is enough to keep them away, mostly, when I'm running, but stand still and they WILL get you).

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 27

Reading a kibyōshi preface signed 小金鶴成 (? Ogane/Kogane Tsurunari/Kakusei--no clue as to actual reading or who he is), & I have to admire his signature image: a crane, yes, but as @plumcalendar.bsky.social pointed out, the lines of its wings spell 成 too! [if you know this guy, please do share!]

screenshot of preface writer's sign-off, reading, 「小金鶴成序」 plus a small sketch of a crane as described in tweet.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 25

Ended a work-at-home day getting out on the bike, destination Rock House Reservation for a wee walk in the woods -- lovely spot, and today was perfect weather for it here in western MA. Office tomorrow though.

Basic trail bicycle (a Specialized Stumpjumper from the 1990s, I think) leaning against a roofed three-part sign board with information about the reservation. At left, stone steps lead up into sun dappled woods.

View of a broad grassy trail leading into woods, past a closed metal gate; the stone steps from previous image are visible at right, with a signpost noting "Dogs must be leashed" and "Property open from sunrise to sunset."

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 21

Hoping to find the answer tomorrow in Morohashi 大漢和辞典 at the library, but meanwhile if anyone can give me a bead on the first kanji here, much appreciated!

screenshot of two kanji, glossed as koshō こしやう, with the second one looking like 従, but the first one is a mystery

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 21

Lovely! Here's a solitary fluff of cloud floating out into the pond-sky up at Scarboro.

view of surface of a pond with a reflected blue sky, containing some low clouds and one small cloud floating above them (the whole image is upside down, so in the photo the solitary cloud is below the bank of cloud...).

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 21

Into the hill trails in late afternoon and again amazed at how abundant the mountain laurel blooms are this year -- glorious, with the occasional hermit thrush singing the golden hour off trail somewhere. Hard to believe I had the whole section to myself (well, me & the deer-flies) #AmRunning

broad woodland trail curving off to the right and on the left an abundant growth of mountain laurel bushes in bloom -- clusters of small white flowers, from ground level up to well beyond head height.

close up of a cluster of white laurel blossoms with a few evergreen leaves-- a bit past their prime, but the deer-flies didn't give me the luxury of finding the perfect bunch! The out-of-focus scattering of sky among the trees in the background makes a nice baby blue and white highlight above the blossoms.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 20

Video may not appear in some browsers/apps, but here's the joyful banner (more blingy than colorful maybe) celebrating researching (mostly) obscure books! #Bibliography #BookHistory #書誌

screenshot from National Institute of Japanese Literature with transient banner trailing the cursor. Banner reads , 祝！書誌データ件１００万件超！！ (Congratulations! More than one million bibliographic data searches done!!)

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 20

Doing a bit of work this fine Saturday and discover that NIJL is sharing the love -- time to take a break and celebrate, I guess?

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 19

Here's just a tiny glimpse of that same sky (maybe a bit later in the day), seen through tree branches reflected in a pool

reflection of a summer blue sky with small scattered clouds, glimpsed through branches of a tall tree, all reflected in a small pool by a woodland stream -- the image has been flipped vertically.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Jun 18

Out for a refreshing bike ride a few days ago, stopped for this railway bridge (pic taken from a road bridge) which reminded me vicariously of Monet's railway bridge at Argenteuil 1873 (thanks to @pernillerudlin.bsky.social for putting it in mind!). #AmBiking

long, low, somewhat rusty railway bridge, spanning three concrete and stone supports across a junction of two rivers, whose joint, shallow waters fill the foreground; in the background trees and herbage and some buildings, all under a summery sky of mixed clouds with a plane trail visible too.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· May 23

We're experiencing a strangely cool May here in western MA, but the flags are blooming all the same--accompanied by the cheerful warblings of our friendly neighborhood catbird & the plangent tones of a woodthrush out back. Time to get out for a trail run before the light fades too much. #AmRunning

two stalks of flag iris each topped with a blue blossom, against a background of a grassy bed

similar two flowering flag irises, with bud for further blooms visible on those and other stalks.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· May 9

TFW your uni lets AI do the ALT text for its official feed and the result is predictably silly. Ouf. Who can tell who those four individuals might be? Truly a mystery to the OP, I suppose. Come on @umassamherst.bsky.social, please do better. bsky.app/profile/umassa…

screenshot of quoted tweet by UMass Amherst with ALT text for one image reading, "Four individuals stand together in academic regalia at Johns Hopkins University. They are posing on a stage, with a large screen in the background displaying partial text." The image actually shows Senior Vice Provost of Equity and Inclusion Wilmore Webley, Chancellor Javier Reyes, award recipient John Arigbede and Interim Graduate School Dean Beth Jakob -- at UMass Amherst.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· May 4

It's been a chilly start to May here in western MA, but @asakiyume.bsky.social's apple tree is decked out in fragrant blossoms all the same. Donut is a reward for yesterday's exertions in the Seven Sisters trail race--stayed upright (just) throughout, & finished running = win! #AmRunning

close-up shot of small cluster of pink-edged apple blossoms, some still not open against fresh green leaves.

wider shot of the same apple tree, showing a many clusters of blossoms and young leaves, with lichen-patched branches going this way and that (it's a pretty large tree, twenty-five years old).

a cream-filled chocolate covered donut with a cream puff on top on a plate, with a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee next to it, all on a table with a tablecloth striped in green, yellow and red.

close-up of an unframed canvas hanging on a wall: the image is of a mountain range (the Seven Sisters, part of the Holyoke range in the Pioneer Valley, western MA) silhouetted agains a post-sunset sky, all purples and orange shades. Lettering in the lower right of the image reads, "SEVEN SISTERS Trail Race 10-Time Finisher."

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Apr 25

今学期が最終盤に入って、もう来週は此の巻を [Washburnの英訳で] 読むんだけど、ちょうど今日の trail run で見た、小さな若草. . . 「この春は　たれにか見せむ　なき人の　かたみに摘める　みねの早蕨」 #AmRunning #源氏物語

three fiddlehead ferns poking up from leaf covered forest floor in late afternoon sunlight

a cluster of pale green fiddleheads, again in close up, with sunlit but out of focus forest floor behind

view of the trail where I stopped to take pics of the fiddleheads -- dirt trail curves gently right among tree trunks dark in contrast to the raking late afternoon sunlight, with small evergreens adding bright color to an otherwise earthy drab scene

the same trail but looking beyond the curve as it heads off into the distance. A few clouds can be seen in the pale blue sky amongst the mostly bare trees.

Steve Forrest@sforrest· Mar 14

Yes! Unexpected re-gift last summer from colleague who doesn't drink coffee -- this one was not my preference (which is for the darkest roasts), but it made a good fruity medium roast, I recall.