WHITE DAY TREATS

"Romancing the chocolate" is unique in Japan. Recently, I received, some " White Day " gifts ... OH, how lucky am I ... but I wondered, "What is White Day?"

If you remember, only Japanese men receive gifts on Valentine's Day... How sad for the ladies, but never fear for there is gallant hope here.

In 1978 , the Japanese National Confection Industry declared that Japanese women should also receive gifts of chocolate love. So, they originated the celebration of " Marshmallow Day" on March 14th, one month after our Valentine's Day. WELL ... marshmallows gave way to delicious, white chocolate and the day was soon transformed into, " White Day".

If a man received a " honmei-choco" , chocolate love, or " Giri-choco", chocolate, given by a female co-worker on February 14th ,then he would be expected to return the favor to the lady, who incidently, may have bought 20 to 30 chocolate boxes for distribution around the office. ..That's alot of male admirers !!!!

Needless to say, this approach to Valentine's Day is something that department stores and confectionary shops promote and look forward to because of the potential sales that it generates. Really, it's a win/ win situation for everyone. .. I mean, if you don't love chocolate , put up your hands!!!

Now, let's take this one step further .... The gifts, for " White Day , are sometimes termed as "sanbai gaeshi" ( literally ,"thrice the return") so whatever a man buys for the lady , should be two to three times the cost of the original gift that he received.... Sounds good to me.( Ha Ha) ... Chocolates, china, lingerie and jewlery seem the most popular ..(CHA-Ching)

If your an English teacher,( like me) you might be lucky enough to receive a " tomo-choco", sweets for a friend.... I enjoy sweets and I adore receiving gifts, so I will gladly accept 'ZaaArt" of giving from the Heart on White Day. .. M-M-M-M- M- This chocolate is yummy!!!!

HAKATA DOLL

This is Kasuga, my wonderful new/old Hakata Doll. She's an antique ceramic that weighs alittle over 5 pounds. Her unusual hair color and intricately designed kimono are breath-taking.

She drinks tea in the elegant ceremonial fashion. It is a happy day for her. See, how gracefully, Kasuga poses her hands...Beautiful !!!.

The process of creating Hakata Dolls varies amongst masters and families, who are recipients of the art technique traditions, that span many centuries.

Hakata doll makers procure their own clay ( tsuchi) locally. The dolls are named, after the area inwhich the clay has been found. In this case Hakata-ku, Fukuoka prefecture.

The pre-owner cared meticulously for this Hakata Doll. I was fortunate enough to receive the artists' signed signature plaque, plus a wonderful, old, rusty carrying case, inlaid with silk padding. Thank You !!!

I am not sure of the exact date of this doll, nor the artists' name, although it seems to say, Tatumi/Tatsumi. Japanese is a symbolic language, often it seems, that the written name or story is interpretive or not exactly understood.

No matter ... for in true fashion, Kasuga, is ZaaArt of a Master Hakata Artisan...whoever he may be.

NO LOVE STORY

No Valentine's Story for Japanese Women... It's true !!!
Being a romantic , I decided to use my ESL, English Class for a sweet romantic interlude of learning .. .. games, puzzles, valentines, stories and poems , all stamped with a big red heart, spelling FUN.

My husband and wife duo, needed to practise their conversational english and writing skills, so I asked them to write a love note to one another, paste it on a Valentine card, then exchange and discuss their thoughts together.

ALERT ... It was suddenly a very delicate situation and very apparent that showing affection was taboo. Anyways ,ONLY men receive chocolates on Valentines day in Japan .. It's part of the business plan, to encourage goodwill toward, future business endeavours. Goodness.. so much for reciving a heart shaped box full of yummy chocolates. Strike One in the history of romance.

Ok, how about Valentines, my friend? ... "No, we do not exchange Valentines," he calmly replies. THUMP ...There was dead silence... Suddenly, a screaming cry resounds ... " I buy you a Valentine and chocolates every year." ... "You buy me nothing," she complained. Oh, Oh ... Is this Strike two in English 101?

OUCH !!!! I was starting to feel alittle stressed and very saddly out of my culture. Needless to say there was alot of conversational english going on. There was also, lots of emotional expression (SOB) and complete sentences with alot of periods and exclamation marks at the end. Was I in the middle of a relationship crisis? No.. It was just stellular English Comprehension and Grammar.

I absolutely marvelled at their ability to ask one another questions. ..And even ( blush) clapped when each one used the appropriate english in a statement... Their vocabulary was excellent. AHHHHHH, I thought, listen to the wonderful continuity of their tones...Up and down.. and soft and loud... HMMM They are learning how to express themselves.. Good work!!!

OK .. Talking is over... They stayed overtime to write a note to one another, cut, paste and exchange Valentines for the first time in their lives. YES ... There is a lesson to this story. All the ESL and Love was not lost ... They actually walked out the door smiling and holding hands... BRAVO

My male student, even decided that for Valentines Day, he would drive his wife to the bus, to spend the night with her girlfriends .. to drink Beeroo.

It seems , that ZaaArt of Love's Labour is alittle lost, romantically, in the Asian translation, but moving forward...slowly, in the English Department

HINA MATSURI DOLLS

Springtime is a coming and with it the Hina Matsuri celebrations. The most important dolls of the season are the tachibani " standing hina, emperor and empress or the Dairi-bina, the seated royal pair, who are featured in most of the festive displays around Japan.

These two little doll( left) are approximately 5 inches tall, including the stand. Their heads are made from a cotton Q-Tip and the bodies from hard cardboard tubing, the size of a quarter in diameter. It was fiddly work , because of the tiny size. Tweezers where needed to secure the embellishments such as the ribbon, fan and hat onto the dolls. I was really amazed at how delightful I felt when I had finished... Tah Dah !!!! Now I only have twelve more figures to make to complete the set... WHEW!!!

The Girls' Day Festival ( March 3 ) was established in 1687 and is perhaps one of the most celebrated in Japan. A few days before the festival, mothers and daughters take out their Hina and arrange them on a red cloth . Sometimes this includes a tiered seven step display with the Emperor and Empress at the top, followed by three ladies serving sake, five or ten musicians, two guardians with weapons and three servants. Toy trees and semi-precious stones, representing a dowry such as carts, chests etc) may also be included. In the Western world, we build Victorian Doll houses and enjoy a casual tea party . In Japan, Hina Matsuri represents, the cultural requirements of manhood and womanhood. It comes with a wish for marriage and a warning not to leave the display up too long, lest the marriage be delayed. So ZaaArt of making dolls and drinking tea is much more culturally exotic here in Japan.

WASHI BABY

It's the first class of the year and of course I had to create the New Years' Baby. I've called her 'Rini" meaning " little bunny " in the Japanese language." Oh rabbit on the moon, What are you leaping for? I shall leap, I shall leap soon, at the large full moon". ( http://www.mamamlisa.com/)
Yes, I sing when I create. Tra-La-La... but, I just couldn't help noticing, that this little dolly seemed to be crawling all over the place, getting stuck in the glue, rolled up in the cottons strips and tangled in the wire, which was a hefty 20 guage. So, I stopped singing and concentrated on the work at hand. ( Focus)Creating Baby was a challenge with all the teeny, tiny poses to chose from. I bent the wire this way and that way, crushing the washi garment to feel and see some authentic form. However, this little cherub was really testing me, but don't all children. They're all basically, a divine work of art in one form or another. Rini was no different.There seemed to be alot of giggling, ooing and cooing going on as this tiny spirit evolved and was transformed into an ( almost live) Washi baby.Suddenly, I started to laugh... because, the best thing about this wee one, is ZaaArt of not having to change diapers. She's already potty trained.. So , I call her my " Miracle Baby".

TOOTHPIC GEISHA

So , I'm in a restaurant watching people picking their teeth, but they are covering their mouths. It's a custom here in Japan. My food arrives and I pull my chopsticks out of a beautifully folded rice paper envelope and there I spy a toothppic Geisha. HMMM ..I love it. Well I search the net lookingfor instructions. I asked my friends for help, but none of them know anything about these little lovelies. So I started experimenting with the washi paper and toothpics.. I never knew that there were so many different kinds of toothpics. Well there are fat ones, round ones, skinny ones, short and tall ones. I'm stumped, but not defeated. A year passes and I stumble across a little shop in the Kokura market and quess what I find? The perfect toothpic.( Doesn't take much to excite me.) It's five cm long and has a circular nick around the top part of the pic. Now, I'm happy..... It took alot of practise but ,Tah Dah ... I'm creating my own little Toothpic Geisha's. Infact , they have become my New Years' inspiration for a "Paperdoll Craft Book" that I'm working on ...No , I don't pick my teeth with them . Toothpic Geishas are fiddly, but in ZaaArt world, time and patience is what it's all about. There's no paper stuck between my teeth..( Ha Ha)

Crane Lore

Have you ever wondered what to do after a Christmas dinner ? This year we made Origami Cranes for the New Year celebrations. Of course some people were better at the folding than others, especially in Japan where they learn paper crafts at an early age, in kindergarten. Surprise, surprise, we had alot of fun doing it.

In Asia, the crane is know as the " bird of happiness" and is often referred to as, thee , 'Honorable Lord Crane"... Myths tell of a legendary warrior who conquered his foes, to heroically, extend the borders of ancient Japan, and upon his death, his soul took the form of a crane and flew away. ( I'd love to illustrate this)

A 12th century legend, tells the story of Yorimoto, who attached labels to the legs of the cranes and requested that the people who captured the birds, record their location, put it on the label and then re-release the birds. This was a very early program, of bird banding.( Amazing isn't it) Infact some of Yorimoto's birds were claimed to have still been alive several centuries after his death.

( Ha Ha)

Yet , another, 12th century, myth retells the tales of Kakamura, a Feudal Lord who celebrated a Buddhist festival . After a successful battle, he freed many cranes, as a thanksgiving gift . Each had a prayer strip on it's leg, to convey a special prayer for those, killed in battle. This appears to be the first recorded association of the crane with celebration of peace and prayer.

Inevitably, the cranes reputation for a long life and prosperity, has became a symbol of good health. Origami cranes have become a popular pastime and a special gift of offering.. So far I've made one hundred small cranes for an origami mobile. I would like to hang it in my new/old Canadian house as a fond remembrance of Japan. It will symbolize the ZaaArt of being Happy and at Peace during 2009.