I studied in Japan during the summer of 1990 while I was in graduate school for my architectural degree. The
precise detailing of so much of Japanese life fascinated me. So many beautiful cans have been produced by the breweries
there that Japanese can collections like Dave Vogl's show a level of artistry far beyond most. This series
of "Favored Views" is one of my favorites. I have nine different ones and would dearly like to know if there are more
and if so which ones and of course how to get my hands on them. I cannot personally translate the Japanese characters
and have therefore relied upon Bill Besefer's wife to help, let me know if any of the labels are wrong.
Sean Kelley sent me the following:
Regarding the "favored views" set, there is an expression in Japanese called "Toudoufuken" to describe
how the geography of Japan is divided up. The "Tou" is for Tokyo. The "Dou" is for Hokaido. The "Fu"
is for Kyoto. The "Ken" is for the rest of Japan, which is divided into prefectures ("ken" in Japanese).
8 of your 9 cans are of various prefectures (the last kanji in parenthesis is "ken") while one represents
Hokaido. The 8th can pictures Tottori prefecture (your webpage says Daisen Mountain, which is what the
white print on the can says, but all your other photos translates the black print).
I fixed the 8th can's description based on Sean's message, and I have found a picture of at least one more can I
need for the set: Kumamoto. This missing tenth can is a bit of an oddity in that I have a Kirin
with the same image on it, but without the fellow with the binoculars. I have held the one that fits in the
set at the Orlando CANvention, so it does exist, but for some reason Kirin made two cans with this graphic. If you
have the one I need for trade, PLEASE contact me.
