The Rope

Japan's oldest ship model club!

ulian was first introduced to the superb ship models crafted in Japan through Yoko Ohmori, who translates the Kydd series into Japanese. Ms Ohmori made a special visit to Britain in 2004 to travel to Tom Kydd’s birthplace and naval locations featured in the books, such as Portsmouth and Sheerness. Even though Ms Ohmori is an experienced tall‑ships sailor, and has worked on many nautical books, she and Julian get together each year by email to go over the latest manuscript point by point to ensure the absolute integrity of the translation.

The ship modelling scene in Japan is very active.

One of the most innovative clubs is “The Rope”, which is the oldest ship model club in Japan. It has eight branches in cities such as Osaka and Hiroshima, and in 2005 celebrated its 30^th anniversary. Julian was honoured to be invited to send a congratulatory message to the members on that occasion.

Each year The Rope holds an exhibition of models at the Ginza in Tokyo, and also brings out a quarterly newsletter.

The picture on the right is a model of “Bahan”, built by Fukuda Masahiko, and demonstrates the beautiful joinery and superb craftsmanship for which the club has become renowned. The model of the yacht took him four years to construct, and is made completely by hand.