How the Japanese Kept Time Using Water, Fire, then Metal

A history of Japanese timekeeping. Clocks of water, clocks of fire, and clocks of metal for you to admire.
Traditional Japanese Time Was Very Different: • Traditional Japanese T...
0:00 Ieyasu hires a clockmaker
0:56 Ancient clocks: FIRE and WATER
4:08 Metal clocks: Wadokei
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SOURCES
🔸 Making Time: amzn.to/3UWM3lK
🔸 Translating Time: muse.jhu.edu/article/562832
🔸 Precision Timekeepers of Tokugawa Japan: www.jstor.org/stable/3106815
🔸 Jesuits and Western Clock in Japan’s “Christian Century”: brill.com/view/journals/jjs/7...
🔸 A Historical Overview of Japanese Clocks and Karakuri: link.springer.com/chapter/10....
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#JapaneseHistory #HistoryOfJapan #Linfamy

[@Linfamy]

Time for another clock video. Related: Christians introduced mechanical clocks to Japan for GOD: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4K5f6t3i9GFapY What time is it? Time to sign up: www.patreon.com/Linfamy

[@pyeitme508]

Wow

[@rakiahbaker5589]

Interesting ☺

[@jhdhdhd7]

was your 100th like!!!!

[@AngelicHalfblood]

I do not mean to offend but I'm really curious about something I heard from youtube videos about the supernatural side of Japan and how there was a certain time where scary stuff happened. I'm curious to know how that happened. is the Bewitching hour 2am? We're there other factors that made the night more scary then others? If that makes sense

[@fran3ro]

My educated guess is that a clock servant was all day beside the incense clock watching and told what time it was each hour. And if that wasn't the case, it should have been.

[@samwill7259]

My first thought of the incense burning clock was "That sounds like a fire hazard" Then I remembered "Dude, everybody was living in wood and thatch houses and the only source of heat, light and food was open flame. EVERYTHING WAS A FIRE HAZARD"

[@Linfamy]

Fires were a real problem in dense cities for sure!

[@stelcxantisto]

Plus Japanese ground is made of Jenga tiles. There was a saying goes:「火事と喧嘩は江戸の華」 meaning "Fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo"

[@awl5451]

Tbh i don't think it's that easy to start a fire from an incense, at least from my own experience 😆 i might be wrong tho

[@Lanval_de_Lai]

Having an open fire is ironically a good way of making your wood house fireproof because the smoke is deposited in the surfaces making them harder to lit on fire. In my region not long ago the people lived in circular houses with walls of stone but vegetal ceiling and wooden beams. The ceiling made of straw like materials would be super dangerous if it wasn't for the smoke.

[@awl5451]

@@Lanval_de_Lai woah, that's actually rly interesting 🤯 didn't know that

[@makaihana975]

"The road to family success is paved with the dead dreams of your children" Omgg 💯 somebody give this guy's scriptwriter a trophy and gold medal

[@ladykoiwolfe]

I think he does the writing.

[@saymyname2417]

There were FAR worse fates than being the shogun's watchmaker, though. And family businesses passed on from generation to generation wasn't exactly a Japanese invention.

[@felipenachmanowicz9393]

I imagine the incenses changed smells over their lenght and you'd know what time it is by fragrance....

[@Linfamy]

Good guess :D

[@erinrising2799]

I must go home it's getting late, it's sandalwood o'clock

[@westrim]

@@erinrising2799 It's midnight, time for Sex On The Beach!

[@bluewingedchaoscat]

Don't worry mum I'll be home at patchouli

[@AngelicHalfblood]

Nice

[@CalebCalixFernandez]

"The road to family success is paved with the dead dreams of your children." That's my father's motto. Luckily, it dawned on him that if he's not paying for my education, he gets no say on what I would study.

[@jamesharding3459]

“You can be an engineer, doctor, or disgrace to the family.” And that is why Uncle Sam paid for my studies in exchange for 8 years of my time.

[@cloud4565]

This video has some big clock energy

[@TheMarg2012]

I have been to Daimyo-clock museum in Yanaka. This video let me learn more about the old clocks.Thank you.

[@Furigou]

Water. Fire. Metal. Clocks. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Clocks Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. Edit: this joke doesn't hold up anymore because Linfamy changed the title of the video. Shame on you!

[@mekhane.broken9678]

Was the avatar a blacksmith specializing in clock making? Being a master of water fire metal and clocks?

[@khamilleannlinsag41]

“They could have used thier most abundant form of energy at that time, but slaves were too big to fit in clocks” did not escape me

[@blackknightjack3850]

Now I'm just thinking of how unique an Edo period time system in a Japanese themed game would be

[@hellblazerjj]

Love your videos especially these clock ones!

[@Linfamy]

Might be one more clock one, who knows!

[@kamimaminamisami7078]

@@Linfamy we definitely need it!

[@ZarlanTheGreen]

The mechanical clocks had to be adjusted for time with differing lengths for day/night and season …but the same was true of water/incense/candle/sand/sun clocks, as well. Both in Japan, and in "the West". In texts from ancient Babylon, on water clocks, they talk about how much water to use for day vs night, and how to change the amounts, every half month.

[@jeanfalconer6377]

All those clocks are so beautiful that I'm kind of sad they went away.

[@flankerchan]

The rotating dial one looks awesome.

[@noone2706]

I've been waiting for a video like this for a long time. Thank you. Consider a video on old japanese furniture? I'm curious about storage and living in a palace vs commoner home

[@sanguiniue]

The amount of effort that went into trying to make Japanese clocks work rather than just adopting the western time keeping method is insane. They went with several designs in decades when western ones remained relatively the same .You know why ? Because THEY WORKED !!!

[@samuraijackoff5354]

Imagine having to adjust all those festival and head cutting times tho.

[@anitat9727]

The US is doing the same by refusing to adopt the metric system.

[@Simlatio]

5:34 I've seen grandfather clocks big enough that you could stand in one. I've always wondered why they don't work anymore.

[@rocketgrunthyunho]

Wow what a big clock you've got sunny

[@xmoon_boyx3541]

Amazing

[@Linfamy]

No you are

[@TheSirGoreaxe]

I was thinking that when the time changed they would have had little fireworks go off for the incense clocks. 1 firecracker for sunrise then 1 more for each hour so 2 for the second hour and so on.

[@darthclaire7179]

That would be cool but would probably scatter the rest of the incense

[@jamesharding3459]

@@darthclaire7179 I’m sure it could be made to work.

[@matthewrosebrock7329]

This is very interesting. Can I ask how you go about finding your references for these videos? I have a hard time finding information on more obscure or very niche Japanese culture topics. Like I really want to look into Inoue Enryo's (Professor Obake) Mystery Studies, or to understand the particulars of the Zorigami; a tsukumogami clock.

[@oracle_8947]

I second this. Writing a historical fiction series set in the sengoku era can be difficult since I don't speak Japanese and can only read what sources are translated on the topics I need.

[@DiscoChixify]

I think he made a video about it a long time ago. A lot of information he gets is from libraries and museums if I remember correctly, but there are specific books out on these topics too that you can buy online. Just have to do some digging.

[@ToshMatsum]

You better have that list of reputable incensed houses, my man, or I'll send you to my Patreon. 🤝 Fun video.

[@KinshiAni]

Toph would be happy about the metal clocks.

[@bigfootpart4therevengeancing]

Having had to disassemble grandfather clocks by hand a few times, I have to say that the more compact versions of clocks devised by the Japanese sound a lot better. Brass weights suck to remove from a clock.

[@dracotitanfall]

Bruh these designs are sick af

[@Lucious410]

This was great. Thanks 😊

[@ladykoiwolfe]

There are so many scents incense comes in. It would be easy to make each hour a different scent.

[@OrisR]

You could say Ancient Japanese time was a WILD TIME back then, eyyy! *Yeets herself out of the Japanese Castle*

[@Soyyomila_]

I love your content a lot!

[@Linfamy]

Thanks so much :)

[@Soyyomila_]

@@Linfamy yw :))

[@mulethedonkey2579]

If there’s any job I’m gonna be forced to do instead of my desire to be a biologist, a Japanese royal clockmaker is cool as heck

[@iglybo]

Very interesting! I love old clocks!

[@Urlik7]

The art is... EXPLOSION!!!

[@krakowian]

this is very intersting video, thanks

[@MrKIMBO345]

Now, I can understand on why Japanese has strong culture with the dealing on the times.

[@TaranovskiAlex]

I guess different types of incense? Like an "hour" of lavender, another "hour" or cotton etc?

[@Linfamy]

😉

[@ssjcrafter8842]

my guess about the incense clocks' way of alerting you about the amount of time that has passed is through smell. maybe they added something to the incense to make it have a different smell? edit: wow, I got it right

[@Linfamy]

Good job ;)

[@Randamono]

Is a clock maker keeping you hostage in his basement? Blink twice if you need help! In all seriousness really cool video! It must have been a nightmare deciding what clock to but back then lol

[@Linfamy]

👀 👀

[@giantred]

Just think, it went from water going from container to container or lighting incense to Seiko being a high end watch brand. That being said, I would really like a fire based clock.

[@mathieuleader8601]

"The road to family success is paved with the dead dreams of your children sounds like a like Freddy from the Nightmare on Elm Street Series would say

[@sheepyteeth3902]

Hey! Linfamy thanks for the video! Quick question: at the start of the video when you talk about Japan and Korea potentially being on good terms, what is that hand symbol you have with the heart?- With the crossed index finger and thumb (I think). Thank you very much!!

[@gwammeh]

6:43 HEY IT’S US!!!

[@Akimittsun]

My guess about incense clocks is that their scents would change scents every so often to indicate the passage of time

[@ABW941]

I thought they would hang metal balls on strings over the incens, so that when a certain point was reached the string would be burnt, the balls would drop and make a sound announcing the time.

[@usvidragonslayer3091]

Those Japanese clocks are cool

[@goldogwolly]

This was fascinating! Now I want to look into how ancient Chinese people told the time, pretty sure they didn't change it up as often as the Japanese did 🤔

[@vvoid8416]

My guess is by connecting to a fuse that would burning down a peasant village.

[@Linfamy]

Lmao

[@pyeitme508]

Wow 😳

[@broly77799]

what about household clocks for peasants and merchants? did they have wadokei or mechanical clocks or water, incense. Or did they have a town bell? Specifically would like to know about the sengoku period

[@gabi.a]

thanks to you, I managed to wash the dishes not felling homicidal 😊

[@Linfamy]

Congrats 👏

[@benjii_boi]

guess about telling time with incense clocks: different kinds of incense for each hour, so that you could tell the hour by the smell of the incense

[@Linfamy]

😉

[@CheerfuEntropy]

watching tudor monastary farm show, and saw that europeans used to track dawn and dusk with foliets too. had the same variable hours as well

[@CheerfuEntropy]

its episode 3 if anybody is curious

[@meimei8718]

Interesting

[@flyingace1234]

My guess for the incense clocks was little bits of gunpowder or fireworks embedded in the stream?

[@hellomjb]

That would be pretty cool, a little sparkle/crackle every half hour.

[@YourFunkiness]

If memory serves correctly, incense clocks used gunpowder to announce the time.

[@asharkhan8175]

Linfamy should make a video about sengoku jidai

[@WildBillCox13]

"Perfect for houses . . ."

[@crsnd338]

Please do evolution of a Japanese courtroom.

[@grantpodue39]

ok not gonna lie legend of zelda majora's mask makes so much sense now lmao

[@gilgameschvonuruk4982]

Silly idea:maybe the incense lighted a fuse, which started a mechanism.

[@octapusxft]

I thought the incense clocks would announce the end by making the house catch fire

[@trelauney]

[With restraint] Don't stop me now Because I'm having a good time Having a good time I figured it would be the smells, but imagine a grain of gunpowder for some hourly percussion

[@Shinji_Dai]

Western brothels had small candles instead of incense sticks but similar idea.

[@vanaals]

It would make sense, day hours and night hours, in a country whose east and west horizons were the distinct lines between water and sky.

[@toibocks3201]

Maybe different insense smells to tell the time apart? Lavender til noon then sandalwood or something?

[@Linfamy]

Good job ;)

[@marionetteproject508]

My first thought for introducing western objects like this,even when it had existed for a long time: inspiration unlocks the future - caproni

[@sierrajohnson717]

Could we possibly go into the introduction of wrist watches in Japan?

[@Ornzora]

I though the incense would no longer produce smell, so they just use it as stopwatch, but wow i don't think they would make diffrent smell for different time !

[@VictoriaForSale]

It just came to my mind that I should have known about the Japanese old time counting before I read various books from the 11. Century like sei shonagons pillow book and especially murasaki shikibus prince genji. I always wondered about their time descriptions of night and morning for example when the gentleman visited lady's 😏 or when They wrote about the beauty of the night. I always wondered "when do they sleep?!" but now that I know the night was shorter I can imagine that intimicacy and staring at the moon was a short affair and especially the ladies are described falling asleep before the night arrived what means before Europeans really consider it night. I need to look further into this and learn about the seasonal time changes and maybe it will only rise my understanding of the Japanese old literature. Thank you so much, I knew they used zodiac animals for the time but not that the hours were irregularly long.

[@Linfamy]

Glad it helped you gain a bit more understanding of old Japanese literature 👍

[@sergiojuanmembiela6223]

The answer could be fireworks? They would explode when the fire arrived to them.

[@broly77799]

in households before the edo period how did commoners tell the time? was it a town bell or did households have incense clocks for themselves

[@melodyparra2960]

Did they put tiny fireworks in the powder so it would sparkle and crackle At each new hour

[@kennethobrien6537]

You could say this is a real tiktoc video!

[@briciolaa]

underrated comment

[@napalmholocaust9093]

If my water clock is rockin don't come a knockin 😉

[@jimiwills]

"and call it a day" 🤣

[@alyssamcdonough8887]

Fire crackers. That's my guess for how incencts clocks could alert you to hour changes

[@Linfamy]

Good guess 😂

[@alyssamcdonough8887]

Dang it

[@alyssamcdonough8887]

I guess it's less of a fire hazard. Good for them

[@samuraijackoff5354]

@@GerardMenvussa Wake up in a panic thinking that someone is shooting you

[@DenajM25]

im guessing how the incence clocks tell you, is the cracle of the fire, im at 2:30 EDIT: i was wrong, yeah idk waht i was thinking about lol

[@D8W2P4]

2:23 The same way the Welsh did their fireworks.

[@TheCreapler]

another funny good vid and for me in a quarter incense stick guy lol.

[@darthclaire7179]

Did it change scent?

[@Linfamy]

😉

[@darthclaire7179]

@@Linfamy I guess you could say they have good scents of time

[@Linfamy]

Get out

[@DigidesteinedSayian]

My guess for how incense clocks could tell time is that different hours have a different type of incense, so it smells different.

[@Linfamy]

;)

[@DigidesteinedSayian]

@@Linfamy I swear I didn't cheat it was just a lucky guess.

[@Sprecherfuchs]

Why do the traditional hours start at 4?

[@ZarlanTheGreen]

Water, fire, metal… that's three of the five elements. What about the other two? Where are the wood clocks, and earth clocks? ;)

[@kidpoison9293]

Okay I promise I didn't cheat. The only thing that I can imagine is the change of the scent of the incense.

[@Linfamy]

Good job ;)

[@marcobuncit7539]

*How it started* Europe: Why do you guys made smelly maze or fountain timer? Japan: Why do you guys made sketchy sparkle sparkle metal? *How it went* Europe: I don't know how long you gonna keep those clocks but we just gonna keep throwing ours anyway lol. Japan: Nah, no thanks. We're just gonna start our own business. Europe: Fuck. *How it still going* Europe: Hey, why you keep buying these clocks? Japan: Hush, great artists steal. Europe: What? O nevermind. *How it ended* Japan: Guess from now own we're just gonna be west. Europe: Pppppffffftttt. *How it may get revive* Japan: Oh, nevermind, let's just go back being our own east again. Europe: We'll see about that. Japan: Okay, boomer.

[@user-vq4yz5nn2q]

Did the incense clocks tell you the time by igniting a tiny amount of gunpowder at their end?

[@thli8472]

I thought it was Jeremy Clockson.

[@ProlMLGJoe]

Finally, some clouds orientalism slowly drifting away.

[@quantafreeze]

I'm guessing the smell changed?

[@LegendaryNyanBeastCabbageKaya]

He said clock so much that the L disapeared ._.

[@invisiblebutaintblind6582]

I'm guessing little bits of slightly explosive powder at certain parts of the incense line- it would make a little banging noise, and you'd hear it. Edit: Nvm. Turns out I'm an idiot.

[@Linfamy]

Creative guess :D

[@quanti5]

Well that's disappointing. Smells? I thought the way incense clocks announced the time was with little patches of gunpowder along the way. How exciting would that have been? BOOM! Suppertime!

[@Carlsaurus808]

if a fly didn’t have wings will it be called a wake or a fly still

[@Linfamy]

🤔

[@chloecheung0620]

So many complicated clocks before huh...

[@00_rei90]

0:14 _"After all, I forsee korea and Japan being on good terms for a long while..."_ I mean he wasn't wrong. For hundreds of years korea and Japan was on good terms until the Meiji era

[@marocat4749]

Europrian farmer too woked from dawn till duksk an i think most peopl dis farm. s. that ws common.

[@RIlianP]

To the prostitute who snapped the stick, she liked to clock block her clients.

[@kpp28]

30 minutes? Damn you guys count in minutes?

[@ninjabaiano6092]

I really thought that they would put explosives in the incense

[@kobiromano6115]

Different smells for different times?

[@fluffybbpeachhun6768]

おおおおおおーしゃぽおおおおおお