Breaking in the New Year with Calligraphy!

Yesterday, I went the the New Year's Celebration at Yume Japanese Gardens- there was an art show and calligraphy demo-workshop by Yoshi Nakano, hanafuda games, and the gardens were open. Of course I wanted to show up in kimono but mostly I wanted to try my hand at calligraphy and see Yoshi-san in action!

Yoshi Nakano demonstrating how to make the character for "Ram". 

Yoshi-san was demonstrated his zen calligraphy in the classroom and afterwards I went outside to see the garden. The was a new dry stream with bridge, and the garden looks really nice right now. The koi were hiding and the pomegranate tree had lost it's leaves but the bamboo was lush and green from the recent rains. Most everyone was inside playing hanafuda or at the workshop, so the garden was very quiet.

There were no ceremonies in the tea house, so I used it as a photo backdrop. The weather was sunny but chilly, about 55 degrees, so I wore my red plaid kimono coat and my gloves with the furry green cuffs. You might notice that the bingata kimono I'm wearing is the same as last time I was there (See entry for Oct. 6) but I changed the obi to red and blue hakata. I mainly wore the kimono again because it has pine and bamboo motifs on it- pine, bamboo, and plum are traditional for the lunar new year. I tried for all three "Sho Chiku Bai " motifs, but I don't have much plum. However, the lining of the coat has plum blossoms. So I just barely made it! Sadly, I do not have a kimono or obi with with a ram motif. That would be very cool!

The new dry river feature and bridge in the garden

Yuri the cat relaxing in the exhibit hall

The kakejiku (hanging scroll) features a winter landscape

The empty tea house

My hands were freezing!

Squinting in the bright sun

These next photos look like I'm demonstrating how to put on the kimono coat! :) This was not intended!

You can see a glimpse of my red juban peaking out from my sleeve. 

The sleeves of the kimono are longer than the sleeves of the coat and bunching up a bit.

Tada!

Next Saturday is Mochitsuki, so stay tuned for more photos of Japanese culture in Tucson well as a different kimono!

~Reb

Arizona Matsuri - NEW Japanese Haiku Expo!

This announcement was just emailed to me today: a Haiku contest in Arizona!

The steering committee of the Arizona Matsuri has initiated a Haiku poetry event to help raise interest in the arts and culture of Japan to the people of Arizona. 

The Haiku event is now open for online entries and each entrant can submit up to 3 haiku free of charge. The deadline for submissions is January 24th, 2015. 

Japanese language students might especially be interested in the contest by challenging themselves with creating an entry in Japanese language. English entries are also accepted. All the information is online; please click on the link below.

http://form.jotformpro.com/form/43006071401942

New Kimono for Summer!

Summer is so far away and too hot for kimono anyway, so "spring" (spring weather starts in mid-February in southern Arizona) is probably a likely time of year for wearing this new piece I purchased from Shinei. I will likely wear this one in February for Matsuri if we have typical nice weather.

This one seems contemporary becasue of the design but it's definitely at least 60 years old. Shinei stated on their website that this kimono was Taisho-Roman era and the sleeves are the right length but I'm not certain. I think it's a bit later. It was advertised as hitoe (unlined), which I love but I didn't expect it to be borderline sheer.

Interesting design!

It's deep charcoal-grey, with light blue "stripes" bordered with pale grey or white. The "stripes" aren't really stripes at all but are more like leaf shapes and remind me of shark's teeth for some reason. I do not know what this motif is supposed to represent, so I may post a photo on the Immortal Geisha website.

Back of kimono

Front of kimono

The silk or silk-blend fabric is nubby and textured, with some subtle color variations in it. At first glance, it appears to be sturdy fabric with some weight to it, until you realize you can see light through it. It's sheer enough that you might have to consider what color juban you wear underneath but it's not ro or sha as far as I can tell. The design is woven but it's not  Meisen, as you can see by the back of the fabric.

Backside of the weave

Detail of the kimono sleeve

I really like this kimono because of it's modern appeal and neutral color- it seems to be begging for either fun bright accessories or maybe a tweedy menswear look. I think because of the color and weight of this fabric, it might work for spring or even early fall. I also have two new obi to share but I'll put those in a separate post!

Happy Christmas everyone!

~Rebecca

Mochitsuki & Japanese New Year in Tucson!

It's been a while! 
Between work and the recent All Souls Procession , I have been super busy and even missed a couple of kimono-wearing events recently because of work commitments!
However, some more Japanese cultural events are coming soon to Tucson, Arizona in early 2015. 

Image from http://www.southernazjapan.org/

• The first event in the new year will be Saturday, January 3rd, Yume Japanese Gardens is hosting a New Year's Celebration! The weather should be excellent (no snow here!) and perfect for bringing out your autumn and winter kimono that you probably never get to wear in Arizona. 
• Next event is Saturday, January 10th, Mochitsuki at Rhythm Industry Performance Factory, sponsored by the  Southern Arizona Japanese Cultural Coalition. There will be taiko drumming at this event, so I will be playing and volunteering! Another chance to wear your festive winter kimono.
• And on Saturday and Sunday, February 21-22nd will be the 31st Annual Arizona Matsuri, in downtown Phoenix. Weather in late February can be variable, but usually we get spring weather- for kimono, we usually bring out the early spring motifs and occasionally summer yukata as well since it has been as warm as 85 degrees F in the past! It has been chilly and rainy too, so be sure to check the weather forecast and plan accordingly. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!
~Reb