FAVORITE THINGS"

Brown paper packages tied up with string... These are a few of my favorites things. No matter what you buy in Japan... They always come wrapped and tied in the most inviting paper, ribbons, tags and boxes...It's such a bonus for the shopper.

When I left this summer, I bought  twelve ,  $3.00 glass angels as a small momento  for the ladies in my doll making classes.

" For you", the salesclerk asked ...No I replied " presento".
I continued to look around, while she  finished my order.  Within 10 minutes , the little clerk shuffled  up to me with a shopping bag... Oh MY GOODNESS... I was so pleased , yet embarrassed.

 Each angel had been  placed into a tiny box,  wrapped  in pink floral paper, tied with a bow and sealed  with a golden sticker.  Now that's service with a smile !!!

Yesterday I was rustling through my papers in efforts to find just the right background for a couple of geisha images....Well...I found it in  decorative paper bags that I had bought in Miyajima.

The sepia bags depicted images of Japanese life, so they fit perfectly into the ATC  Geisha theme.  I quess the lesson here is to .... Never underestimate,   ZaaArt of keeping and collecting papers.  My two ATC's " Little Sparrow" and "Blossom Geisha" settled nicely into the paperbag scene and proudly wear the tags of being recycled works of art.

"AUTUMN LEAVES"

Today in New Brunswick,the winds of autumn, flurry the leaves past  my windows... I have never seen the foliage fall so quicky. While the colors of a Canadian fall can  expand the heart with joy, so does the autumn  in Japan fill the heart with inner  calm and  repose.  I am missing Japan this season.... Wishing I could walk once more in the Imperial Palace grounds, picking up the tiny maple leaves to press between the pages of  my books. I love creating pictures with pressed flowers and leaves... It's a hobby from my childhood. 

I had not realized the difference in the size and shades of the maple leaves ... Our Canadian maples are so vibrantly robust and large ... some  bigger than the palm of my hand. The Japanese maple leaves are tiny and frail, mostly crimson in color... They are like  tiny fairies fluttering and dancing through the air, into my heart.

Next month I will return to Japan. I look forward to nestling down with the leaves pressed so snuggly  amongst the pages ...  recalling the fond memories of  walking through the palace courtyards in Kyoto.

"NO CELEBRATIONS"

WHAT !!!! No Japanese Holidays and Celebrations... I'm  in shock... I wondered if I had done something wrong by being away so long.. Oh...Oh  !!!!

Actually the only events happening in Japan in the month of  October are "Sports days", and the next real big  festivity is New Years...  I pondered the lull in the  active calendar of  festivals and  figured maybe it was  time out for the  busy, ambitious Japanese... Certainly, I'm missing  the special days and  cultural antics. Aren't You ? I mean how can there be no festivals, holidays or picnics in their Fall schedule. OK.. I understand and I'll be back shortly to report to you , my friends... Thanks for hanging in there !!!!

" GODDESS"

Let yourself go and see what can be created in the " spirit of the rice" ( see last blog, below).... It might surprise you !!!

" RICE SPIRIT "

"You are what you eat" is a Japanese concept as old as civilization itself.  June is the month for planting  rice in Japan.  It is the start of a  season which is celebrated by hundreds of rice planting festivals that utilized ancient tools, clothes, songs and dances to evoke the " spirit of the rice".


Until modern times, the rice crop was the standard used for managing land and levying taxes. The word for cooked rice itself is synonymous with a meal; other foods served with it, even expensive shavings of  beefstake, are considered (o-kazy) or side dishes. There's rice, rice and more delectable  rice than you could ever imagine.

In Japan , not all rice is white or brown ... There are 1,500 varieties that come in your choice of rainbow colors., which makes for an exciting cereal diversity.  My biggest decision is what shape to buy ... fat, pearl, thin or flat,  as they all have a different  texture.... Decisions .. Decisions !!!

Imagine your child going on a  seasonal  field trip to plant rice.. What fun!!!! I want to don a pair of  shorts and  a  hat and slosh my bare feet around the wet rice paddys too. ( Ha Ha)

 Each rice seedling is  carefully, hand planted  into the mud,  to ensure that it stands up securely, thus  protecting the tiny stems  from drowning in the water flooded fields.  Certainly this is a first hand education in understanding the work required to put a daily bowl of rice on the table.

My favorite part of the whole season is the ZaaArt of  celebrationing this tiny sheath of green( rice) and nurturing it,  with the traditional  folklore songs, dances  and drumbeats of the heart. It's truly a tribute to nature !!!

TIME FOR A CHAT

It's Cherry Blossom season...and time to get back to the blogging... I have missed you all and decided that our chat sessions were way overdue. SO close your eyes and think of the most magical place you could visit. Where did you go ?

Japan, imagine that!!!! I'm here too, enjoying the beauty of the Sakura trees  in full splendour. Every year the Japanese track the ' sakura zensen" cherry blossom front  as it moves northward. The blossoming begins in Okinawa, in January and typically reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the end of March or beginning of April. A few week later  Hokkaido experiences the  transience of blossoms,"mono no aware", the extreme beauty and quick death of the Japanese cherry blossoms which  has often been associated with mortality  .

The Japanese eagerly await  the forecasts and gather in large numbers at parks, shrines and temples with family and friends to hold flower viewing parties.  It is a sight to behold.. definately  the stuff that dreams are made of.

" Hanami" festivals  celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom and for many it's a chance to have a relaxing picnic under the shade and beauty of the cherry tree...  I love this reverent celebration of nature, where households, poets, artists, singers and all people gather 'en masse ' to  breath in , an enduring metaphor for  the ephemeral nature of life.

The Sakura is an omen of good fortune , an emblem of love  and represents the regalia of Spring. I'm keeping my eyes closed so that all the cherry blossoms can flutter and  flurry, on and around me for one more day.  It's  a glorious experience....That's the "ZaaArt" of  enjoying nature here in Japan.

MATARO DOLLS

Traditional crafts of Japan are mainly made by hand . It takes many years to acquire the techniques  and skills associated  to what is known as  a traditional craft product.  Recently , I have  been attending  Mataro Doll classes  studying the  traditional making of Mataro dolls and the Palace ball craft.

The " Goten Mari"  was a ball originally made with silken threads. During the edo  Era     (1600-1867), ladies  in noble household throughout the country enjoyed making and playing with these balls. As a result, this ball came to be know as " Goten Mari" or the " Ball of the Palace".

It is a 10 cm round  round ball  molded with clay and  deeply etched with  a specific design that you cover  with fabric and paste into position. All the seams are folded  and overlapped into  carved spaces, thus,  creating a perfect geometric ball of beauty.  It is the first  requirement before attempting the   Mataro Doll, which is one  Japan's most  celebrated traditional  crafts.

Kanabayashi Mataro, Master DollMaker shares "Zaa Art" of this 100 plus year old tradition by training and certifying  craft people in the superb, ancient techniques of creating  Japanese Dolls.