Omisoka and Shogatsu (How Japanese Greet the New Year, 2/2).

It's continued from Omisoka and Shogatsu (How Japanese Greet the New Year, 1/2).




At new year, Japanese lion dance called "Shishi-mai" is held in many places.
There is a tradition that children who have their head bitten by Shishi will be happy.
(Photo : "Shishi-gashira (lion's head)" that is a mask for "Shishi-mai". by (c)Tomo.Yun)
(Video : "Shishi-mai".)

Omisoka and Shogatsu (How Japanese Greet the New Year, 1/2).

Today, I'd like to talk about Japanese custom of year end and new year.
Year end and new year are called "Nenmatsu Nenshi" in Japanese.
Though some customs are fading away, we have a lot of things to do during Nenmatsu Nenshi.
And today, Christmas is included as the one of year end events.

Most of events are originally held to welcome "Toshigami".
Toshigami is a god of Shinto that symbolize the year, and it visit each house every New Year.

(The photo is Maiko's first working day of the year.)

What Is This? - Qing's Court Clothes.

Few weeks ago, I received a message from our mail-form.
It was from an US woman Dale.

She said she recently purchased two items.
But she didn't know what those are.
She guessed the blue jacket is possibly a juban.
And she wanted to know what other item that looks like skirt is.

So, she said us "Can you tell me what these are?".





...No! (>_<;)
They were not Juban, or clothes around kimono.
I got a little shock because it's clear not Japanese things.
Oh...in US, people are lumping Asian countries together...!

...But I reconsidered.
I can't tell European ethnic clothes apart too.
What I have to do is think about her question and give some answer.
It's an inter-cultural communication!

So, I started to research about these old clothes.

Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3 / seven-five-three).

Shichi-Go-San is a traditional rite of passage and festival in Japan.
Three and seven years-old girls and three and five years-old boys visit a shrine on Nov. 15th to drive out evil spirits and wish for a long healthy life.
Three, five and seven are consistent with Japanese numerology, which dictates that odd numbers are lucky.
It is not a national holiday, and is generally held on the nearest weekend by each family.

Wagashi (Japanese Traditional Sweets) of Autumn.

Wagashi is the generic term of Japanese traditional sweets.
And Namagashi is a fresh & moist Wagashi that is often served with thick green tea at a tea ceremony.

At the last week, I had a guest and she brought assorted autumn Namagashi!
Now I'd like to show you 6 pieces of them.



At first, I'm sorry for the photos of a cross section don't look nice because I didn't cut them with knife!(>_<;

Japanese Seasons and Design of KIMONO. (2/2)

It's continued from Japanese Seasons and Design of KIMONO. (1/2)



Around kimono, such customs are living vividly.

If your kimono have wisteria design on it, you can wear it only during the wisteria season.

Jugoya (Night with the Harvest Moon).

Jugoya of 2009 is Oct. 3rd.
Because it is based on the old calender and the waxing & waning of the moon, a date of Jugoya is different each year.

Japanese Seasons and Design of KIMONO. (1/2)

Japan has four seasons.

Of course, I know there are a lot of countries that have four seasons in the world.
(I have visited Canada twice, summer was full of sun and winter was full of snow!)
But Japanese seasons have deep relation with kimono, and maybe it's a little unique.
So, I want to talk about Japanese seasons.

Wearing Kimono & Attending Friend's Wedding.

Few days ago, I went to my friend's wedding.

I attended the ceremony at a chapel, the wedding reception at a banquet hall, and the after-wedding party at the same hall.

It was so gorgeous and bride was wonderfully beautiful with happiness and technique of professional.