Cargo vessel; Cargo boat

A model of a Japanese cargo boat built demonstrating the Yamato-Gata, or the frameless plank, tradition. The model is made entirely in wood with metal and organic material fittings, and is unpainted, apart from specific details painted matt black. The hull is flat-bottomed with the area below the waterline painted black. The stem post is deep rising to a short decorative bowsprit, painted black with a short length of red wool tied around it. The lower deck is extended over the port and starboard sides, supported on six deck beams that jut out from the hull, the ends of which are painted black. The bulwarks have bamboo gunwales that curve downward towards the bow, and the bulwarks themselves are made of vertical and horizontal bamboo poles tied together and backed with wooden sheets. Below the bulwarks, entry port doors have double sliding shutters in a lattice decoration. Entry hatches further aft also have working hatch doors that slide up and down. A short foredeck accommodates a pair of identical four-armed grapnels, made in metal and painted black. Three lateral beams, one above the other are rigged through the bow. The middle beam placed at deck level, has a stay rigged to it that supports a forestay running from the heel of the bowsprit to the head of the single mast. The main deck sweeps upward toward the stern and a cabin area is positioned forward of amidships. The cabin rook is pitched with a ridge made from a bundle of seven bamboo poles. The roof itself is made of equally-spaced horizontal and vertical bamboo poles, tied together and with wooden sheets beneath. Two companion ladders forward, and two ladders aft, provide access to the roof. There are sliding double entry ports forward. The mast gives the impression of being constructed from a thick bundle of bamboo poles and the head, made from wood, curves forward. It is rigged with a single yard from which is set a sail made from eleven vertical strips of cream-coloured material. The strips are sewn either side and open-stitched together. The large rudder is reinforced with three planks on either side and is accommodated in a wide rudder well. The rudder post extends beyond the deck and is secured in a tabernacle-like arrangement. A straw-work cover is fitted to the head of the rudder post and, directly below it, a tiller is rigged. The stern has a single square porthole with working double sliding shutters with a lattice decoration. A tall, rectangular flag is rigged to an ensign staff on the starboard quarter deck. The flag has navy blue and white strips at the top and bottom with three Japanese characters.