HAPPY EASTERTIDE

I think of the garden after the rain;

And hope to my heart comes singing,

" At morn the cherry blossoms will be white,

And the Easter bells will be ringing!".

Written by: (Edna Dean Proctor : Easter Bells)

Wishing the blessing of Eastertide to all my special friends... Please enjoy the 'Zaa Art " of the Springtime .

SAKURA, SAKURA

April is " Cherry Blossom" season in Japan . It's a mezmerizing time , when an ethereal pink hue takes over the hills and countryside. I have been so in awe of the beauty that I've snapped over 500 pictures. Today, I remembered a song. "Sakura, Sakura", is a traditional Japanese folksong from the Edo period,depicting Spring and the season of cherry blossom in Japan. It was first composed for children playing the "koto".

" Sakura, Sakura"
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
On Meadow-hills and mountains
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Across the Spring sky,
As far a you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the air.
Come now, come,
Let's look, at last!
If you would like to hear this song , please go to: http://www.mamalisa.com/midi/sakura.midsakura.mid.
http://www.mamalisa.com/mp3/sakura.mp3akura.mp3akura.mp3
Hope you have the time to enjoy 'Zaa Art" of the season by taking a moment to stop and smell the blossoms. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

LION BOY

It Birthday time in Japan. Four, out of five members of my immediate family celebrate their birthdays in March, so the Spring season often becomes one big PARTY.

This is a picture of my husbands' birthday gift. ' Lion Boy ", a character from the Kabuki Theatre. I thought it might remind of his youth and maybe, he would jump up and down and we could go dancing ( Yes, that's a good idea! )

Kabuki is a blend of music, dance, mime and spectacular costuming. It has been the main theatrical artform in Japan for four centuries. "Lion Boy" is one of it's favorite characters. I had never made a male doll and thought it might be a fun project. WELL.........

The truth is that, we didn't go tripping the light fantastic, but the gift did make my husband smile . He really appreciated, that I made a male washi doll for him. ..SO he took me for a week-end trip on his birthday and bought me a pearl necklace. .. HEY ..That's " Zaa Art " of Birthday Magic.

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.