I introduce a book today. I saw it at the book store the other day, it looked interesting and I tried reading it. “Everyday is a good day: 15 happiness taught by ‘Tea'” (only in Japanese) by Noriko Morishita.

First I introduce the overview.

Twenty-five years have passed since I began learning tea. Everyday I stumbled upon my job and kept searching for my whereabouts with anxiety. In the sorrow of broken heart, death of my father, when I noticed, there was “tea” beside me. Freedom that has come to me in a straitjacket of rules. A mind resting that “Only staying here is okay”. I smell rain, I can hear one grain of rain… Together with the pleasures of tasting the seasons with five senses, “I am alive now!” I spell that impression vividly.

The end of the Tanabata series which has been on since July 7, this time about “Bamboo”.
The Star Festival
Five Colors of Strips

At the Tanabata event, people decorate wish things in strips and decorate them with bamboo together with Tanabata decorations such as folding cranes and windsocks. It sounds silly and winds in the wind, it is very nice to have a taste. Well, why is bamboo?

The Tanabata series following the previous blog “The Star Festival“. This time for the second time is “Five Colors of Strips (Tanzaku)”.

In the ancient Chinese ancestral event “Kikoden”, they were decorating the five colors threads, and after being transmitted to Japan, they have been changed to strips to decorate Japanese poems (Waka). And from the Edo era when ordinary people spread to wishes and the “Milky Way” and other words and pictures wrote down on the strips, turning to hang them on bamboo leaves. Incidentally, Tanabata remains as a custom in China, Korea, Taiwan, etc., but only in Japan, writing a wish in a strip and hanging it on the bamboo leaf. I thought again that Japanese culture likes to write songs and write something.

There are also meanings for the five colors, and the color based on the Chinese Yin-Yang five-line theory is derived. The Yin-Yang five-line theory is that everything has two conflicting aspects of “yin and yang” and has five elements of “Tree / Fire / Earth / Gold / Water” which is the root of all of this world. The color applied to these five elements is “Blue / Red / Yellow / White / Black“, each of which has its own meaning.

There are many annual events in Japan, among them there are many people to participate in and there is a high awareness of Tanabata (The star festival) today. I did not know its origin which seemed to know but actually I did not know well, so I searched it.

– Ancient Japanese event “Tanabata”
– Chinese ancient events “Kikoden”
– Legend of Orihime and Hikabi (Orihime represents Vega, Hikoboshi represents Altair)

It seems these three stories combine and is connected to the present Tanabata.

Today is June 30th. Half of the year passed in 2018. The remaining half of the year starts from tomorrow.

It is an event called “Nagoshi no Harae (Summer Purification Ceremony)” in Japan, that is done on such a day of separation. It is called “Kayano wa kuguri” to pass down the thatch ring created in the shrine and to reduce sin and impurity. Chigaya ring is a ring knitted with grass called Kaya. This is the event that thanks to appreciate being able to spend safely with excellence of the first half of this year, and pray for spending well the rest of the year. What is done at the end of June is “Summer Purification Ceremony”, and “Year end Purification Ceremony” at the end of December.

It is the continuation of the last “What kind of dream is Yumeji‘s dream?”

I introduce the impressive contents from the book “Takehisa Yume bi-art book collection” that summarizes Yumeji’s poems and essays, related to the exhibition “Takehisa Yumeji: Master of Japanese Modern Illustration” held at Tokyo Station Gallery until 7/1.

Last time I was talking about poetry, today I pick up “Yukata should wear casually” from the essay.

Many women appear in Yumeji’s paintings, most of them are wearing kimonos and yukata. As expressed in organic lines, the suppleness of kimono and the curvaceous beauty of the women imagined from it are very impressive, Yumeji seems to have been committed about dressing.

In the blog of “Hawaii Island – Language –“, I mentioned that there are 130 words to express rain in Hawaiian, so that I searched about Japanese one, and I found a book “Dictionary of rain words”.

This book is a dictionary of words related to rain that number About 1200 words. I thought it is about a bit more than 130 in Hawaiian? but no way, almost 10 times! What a Japanese words.

It is time rainy season (Tsuyu) in Japan, there are 32 rain words for example.

I write about the book “Japan the Beautiful and Myself” by Yasunari Kawabata which I wrote about it in my blog “In the spring, cherry blossoms In the summer, the cuckoo“.

In 1968 Yasunari Kawabata was awarded the first Nobel Prize for literature as a Japanese, attended at the award ceremony in Stockholm with formal wear of a Hakama. He gave speech with a magnificent Japanese and a deep impression. This book is the full text of it. (from Description of item amazon Japan)

The content is described by a song of a priest such as Zen master Dogen, the word of a novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa and a monk Ikkyu. In the part about “Karesansui” in the Japanese garden and “Wabi Sabi” in the tea ceremony, he also mentions specific arts such as bonsai, flowers, pottery etc. And tribute to Japanese culture is stated through classical literature such as “Ise Monogatari”, “Genji Monogatari”, “Makurano soshi”, “Kokinshu” and “Shinkokinshu”.

I have learned about wearing Kimono, I have learned about the knowledge about kimono as well. It is so much fun to learn for me, and today is about “Edo Komon (a fine pattern)”.

In the Edo period, the patterning of Kamishimo(ceremonial dress worn by feudal lord) is the origin. Feudal lords gradually began to compete with the luxury of that pattern, so that the Edo government regulated to make clothes simple. And Feudal lords began to minutely pattern to look solid from the distance. As a result, the Edo Komon became a dyed product making full use of highly advanced dyeing technology.

The patterns that can be used at each lord have fixed as below.

The three highest ranks
– The House of Tokugawa in Kishu: Shark
– Date clan in Sendai: Gyogi
– Matsumono clan in Shinshu: Kakudoshi

– Shimazu clan in Satsuma: Daisho Arare
– Maeda clan in Kaga: Mansuji/Kikubishi
– The House of Tokugawa: Omeshiju
– Nabeshima clan in Saga: Goma pattern

Meanwhile, the townspeople also began to imitate this Komon, and this seems to have enjoyed the fancy by making detailed items such as daily necessities in close proximity.

The opportunity to actually write letters decreases because the advent of computers that can input characters, such as word processors and personal computers. It has been becoming convenient and the accuracy of convenience increases. On the other hand, I do not think that the opportunity to actually write letters will be completely lost, and I do not want to lose it.

If I say so, I sometimes forget about how to write Kanji (Chinese character), make mistakes to write kanji or sometimes I am stunned by the poor character I wrote. It has been a few years since I need to face to write letters by hand… I tried practicing with the pen writing exercise book, but it does not last long and loses the temptation of convenience.

While watching Japanese paintings, ukiyoe prints, picture scrolls, old documents at the exhibition of the times, I thought “Vertical writing looks beautiful” as I felt restless with my hand writing for a while. And I thought, okay I try! then I went to the stationary shop. It is high level to write Japanese with brushes, and I found a nice fountain pen. I bought a nice one, it is perfect for writing comfortable, the appearance and the price is good. ” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>This one. It is very easy to write because the pen tip is heavier, and the look is cool.