A Japanese 'shaku dokei' shitan wood wall hung pillar clock Anomynous, late 20th in the 19th century style The going train of three wheels set between strip backplate angled at the top to incorporate verge escape wheel top potance and foliate scroll-pierced and engraved keyhole-shaped frontplate with conforming apron to the top margin concealing pivot for the front swinging short bob pendulum, with decorative turned column pillar finials to angles set within three-panel glazed box cover, over caddy-moulded trunk applied with vertical chapter ring annotated with ten divisions each divided into tenths next to twelve adjustable cartouche numerals each engraved with their respective Japanese characters with further shaped baton half hour markers between, the interior with descending weight also incorporating the single bell striking mechanism with countwheel for striking Japanese hours and pointer passing through the front, with brass 'flowerhead' pierced sound frets to sides and applied to a shaped backboard incorporating hanging hole to the extended shaped top section, 63.5cm (25ins) high. Provenance: The property of a private collector, Hertfordshire. The Japanese method of dividing the day had its origins in Chinese practice and until 1868 the daytime and night time were split into six 'hours' each. This meant that with the changing of seasons the length of these temporal hours varied. Day hours in the summertime were longer than the day hours in the winter. With this system to show the correct time, the numerals on the dial ideally needed to be adjusted every fourteen days. The hours or toki were each divided into tenths bu with the mid way or Shokuru marked with a baton. The hours were counted backwards and named after zodiacal animals. Consequently the current lot is annotated with two repeating sets of six numerals starting with the sixth hour denoting either the hour of the Hare (dawn) or Cock (sunset) and counts downwards through two sequences before clock needs to be rewound.