春雨逍遙

in idleness

🇬🇧United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland👘 Mr. Shakespeare, I presume.

NO. 170 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 英国 (グレートブリテン及び北アイルランド連合王国)

kimono.piow.jp

Sponsored by ホテルマターレ創世佐賀/HOTEL MARITAL SOUSEI SAGA

Kimono by 眞鍋 沙智 Sachi Manabe

f:id:hshoyo:20220201120349j:plain
The main features of the design are the English garden and the Union Jack. Ms. Manabe's creations are characterised by being inspired by literature and music, and she depicted UK against the backdrop of the River Thames and the London night scene, using motifs from Sherlock Holmes, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Alice in Wonderland and 007.

f:id:hshoyo:20220201120516j:plain
Image Reference:
『「Musée du KIMONO」で世界を旅する @京セラ美術館』下鴨・宝ヶ池・平安神宮(京都)の旅行記・ブログ by akikoさん【フォートラベル】

Obi by 紫紘 Shiko Co., Ltd.

f:id:hshoyo:20220131171744p:plain
It is based on the colours of the British flag - blue, white and red, and features the striking swirl pattern familiar from the opening sequence of the 007 film. The national flowers of England (tudor rose), Wales (trumpet daffodil), Scotland (thistle) and Northern Ireland (shamrock), which make up the United Kingdom, are placed at the centre of the spiral.

Image Reference:
【英国】に込めた技術と想い Kimono Project - CAMPFIRE (キャンプファイヤー)

Following on from this Kimono, I'll be looking at kimonos from the constituent regions of the UK, let's start with Wales, shall we? Happy Imbolc✨🐉

Tonga🇹🇴 with Prayers for the paradise in the South Pacific👘

NO.147 Kingdom of Tonga トンガ王国

Image Reference: kimono.piow.jp

Sponsored by 'GIFT from People with LOVE', which means that is made possible by private donations.

Kimono by 岩間 奨 Susumu Iwama

f:id:hshoyo:20220131173555p:plain
Tonga is the only kingdom in the Pacific and is an island nation surrounded by beautiful seas. The history of Tonga began with the sea. The sea on the right and the sky on the left. It shows the Royal Palace, the Free Church of Tonga, the Basilica Church and the Neiafu Cathedral. You can also see the three stone towers of Ha'amonga Trilithon, an ancient ruin, and the palm tree with three-pronged end, Tonga's number one power spot. Hibiscus and plumeria further enhance the tropical mood of the kimono.

Obi by おび弘 Obihiro Co., Ltd.

f:id:hshoyo:20220131173613p:plain
The sea and sky seen through a wreath of South Sea flowers, with accents of orange juice called 'otai, were drawn using the technique of Tsuzure-ori (figured brocade with a sculptured effect).

🇹🇴🤜✨🤛🇯🇵
I offer this translation as a token of our friendship to Tonga. May the eruption be brought under control, may the people of Tonga recover quickly, and may many people from all over the world visit your beautiful country again.

mobile.twitter.com

Moving!!!

I am moving my blog - posts from 2022 will be made here. It may be a bit tricky to post for a while, but I'll keep you posted📬️ I look forward to seeing you next year.

🎉 https://70again.wordpress.com

The new address valid from the beginning of the year🤞

P.S.
As I found it difficult for me to introduce the English translations of Kimono Project on my new blog,
70again.wordpress.com
I will continue to update the translated posts here😉 20 Jan, 2022 🇯🇵 Nao

some quiet time

Memory is a tricky thing, because it can be vague, but it can also be strangely detailed. This morning's post was a bit sentimental, partly because I've kept my blog trying to be as accurate as possible about what's going through my mind at the time. I'm honestly recording my current embarrassment here again.

I've been alone all day, so I've been able to spend some quiet time writing a couple of postcards and cutting some overgrown branches in the garden. I'm sure the tulips are doing their best to put down roots under the soil. It was a good day. May your year end be a happy one too.

The Birthday Queen's crown will be passed on to the next person. xxx

how I wish you were here

In a dream, I was lost and got on a train, there was also a train on the opposite track and both were stopped. I saw my mother on the other train and I stared at her. She noticed me and we were both crying. When I have these dreams, I actually wake up with my heart ripped out of my chest. It is always December I reach another age that she never knew existed. I want to say that I'm okay now, but I realised I'm still moping. I know that I am not alone, but I am so stupid that I soon forget that. It's time again to start counting what's in front of me, not what's lost.

candlelight

It's after Christmas, I am tidying up my house, shivering in the cold air that has come down from the north. I found some fragrant candles from my travels and lit them up. Even in the daytime, as the sun is low in the sky, I can see the individual grains of light bursting out. Looking at the flame makes me feel nostalgic, perhaps because it brings back memories of ancient times.

I'm thinking of changing the subtitle of this blog from 'in idleness'. I borrowed the title from a Japanese famous essay called '徒然草 (Tsurezuregusa; Essays in idleness)' by Yoshida Kenko (1283-1352). It's one of my favourite books.

Japan🇯🇵 a reminder of the connecting with the world👘

I bring you this post as a Christmas gift🎅 I'm not sure where to start. The basic premise is that Kimono Project is a private initiative. The aim was to complete a kimono representing each of the participating regions by the time of the 2020 Olympic Games, which were expected to attract a large number of spectat.

It was not confirmed that the kimonos would be used at the Olympics ceremonies and they didn't make it happened (it's a long story), but as the kimonos gradually became available, the project became better known and was actually used at international conferences and big events as the Rugby World Cup 2019.

The founder of the project, Mr. Takakura was inspired by the many women who wore their own kimonos to award medals at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. I also saw many women in beautiful kimonos in a film commemorating the former Tokyo Olympics. Their kimonos called 振り袖 (Furisode), the first formal dress for single women, which is made of silk and is quite expensive. The kimonos made by Kimono Project are also Furisode.

着物 (Kimono), is a generic term for traditional Japanese costumes, is now not worn on a daily basis, and the low demand for it has meant that there is no successor for the craftsmen, and the precious craft is disappearing. In fact, a craftsman who participated in the project has passed away after making the kimono, and his skills have been lost. Kimono Project was started out of concern for this situation in 2014.

f:id:hshoyo:20220131164120j:plain
Image reference: 京都市京セラ美術館にて「2020着物に世界を映す」展開催

Now let me introduce you to the kimono of Japan 🇯🇵 By the way, am I the only one who can't find Japan in the kimono list? I can't find it even in the Asian category. So here's a quote from another article. The person in the photo with the kimono is the founder, Mr. Takakura.

www.sankei.com

When it came to expressing Japan's national pattern in a kimono, the design chosen was not Mount Fuji or traditional performing arts, but the bundle noshi (熨斗 noshi; long thin strip), which has been widely used in ceremonial dress as an auspicious pattern. He says, 'As a kimono that adorns the closing of all the countries and regions we produce for the project, we hope that it will be Japan that connects the world.'

The kimono was made by 千總 Chiso (Kyoto), a long-established Kyoyuzen company, and depicts flowers from 47 prefectures of Japan and around the world, expressing the diversity and the shape of the ribbon is a reminder of the connecting with the world.

The obi is based on the technique used for 円文白虎 (Enmon Byakko; a design of white tigers in circles), a masterpiece by Tatsumura Heizo I. The fourth generation of Tatsumura Heizo made improvements to the obi. For the warp, three types of white silk thread were used, in addition to gold and silver threads, and five different colours of foil were used.

The obi (sash) was made by 龍村美術織物 Tatsumura Bijutsu Orimono (Kyoto), with a cherry blossom design in a variegated 七宝(shippo; cloisonne) pattern. A total of 426 items, including obis, were produced over a period of six years, with 213 themes including not only countries but also regions participating in the Rugby World Cup 2019.

Here is a quote from what the founder says in this article. This is a Japanese site, but I hope you will enjoy the many photos and videos.

www.kimonobijin.jp

I thought that there are a lot of restrictions, or constraints, that we have placed on ourselves. This phenomenon was evident in all areas. I think we have decided the range of our own work. That's why manufacturing has become so rigid. Each region has a completely different temperament, but I think the problems are the same. I think people should be able to make things more freely.

We have to take better care of our seniors, our parents, our ancestors, our forefathers. That's basically what creates a culture. If we only think about ourselves, we will not think about the future. First of all, we have to be grateful to the people of the generation above us. If we do that, we will value what they have valued, and then we will be able to talk about the future. What our predecessors have done is in our culture. I think that our predecessors have not wavered from their axis, but have worked hard in their time to protect what is important.

eat with our bodies!

Today, after the winter solstice, after the former Emperor's birthday and on Christmas Eve, it feels as if I have passed the big pass to end the year. We will have more opportunities to eat feasts and we have to be careful not to eat too much, but we tend to eat with our minds, not our bodies.

What can I do? I don't drink alcohol and I tend to go for sweets. I suppose it's better to distract myself with something else than worry about eating too much.

I wish your digestive system all the best this season🤞

I'll meet the deadline

I am at the spa again. My little trip last month was so good that I booked it as soon as I got back. One of the reasons was that at that time the infection situation in Japan had calmed down. Now that the Omicron strain has started to be confirmed in the big cities, I don't know when I will have this opportunity again. So I'll take even more pleasure in the joy. After a soak in the hot spring, I spent the evening in my room relaxing, concentrating on addressing my family New Year's cards and knitting.

The domestic postal service will deliver your cards on New Year's Day if you post them before the 25th. The card needs to be clearly labelled as 年賀: New Year's card or it will be delivered before the year's out! I don't think this applies to mail from outside the country.

P.S. I'm planning to introduce the kimono of Japan by Kimono Project before the end of the year, but I'm a bit nervous about the content and haven't made much progress.

師走, it's been busy but I'm doing well!

師走 is read as 'shiwasu'. The word Shiwasu refers to the month of December in the old luner calendar, but even today we often call December 師走 as well.

When we says the word 師, the first thing that comes to mind is the word '先生-Sensei' means teachers, and can also refer to higher-ups. And the word 走 means to run.

They(師) usually seem to be in a relaxed state and not in a hurry to move. However, it is said that the word Shiwasu was coined to describe December is the time of year when even higher-ups are busy running around. It's true that the end of the year is very hectic, so the expression 'so busy that 師 runs' fits perfectly, isn't it?

Happy 師走❄️⛄️

all about the end of the year around me 2

This is a continuation of the post of 15 December.

  • Is New Year bigger? Which is your biggest celebration of the year?

The reason why Christmas is merrily celebrated in Japan, in my opinion, is because it plays a prelude to the New Year🎌 The children's winter holidays have already started by then and it seems to be the liveliest time of the year. I'm in a festive mood from the end of the month until the beginning of the year, partly because the former Emperor's birthday is on the 23rd. The Emperor's Birthday is a public holiday. It has now been moved to February.

I suppose the biggest festival of all is the New Year. Then there's お盆 Obon in mid-August (or July in some areas), when the spirits of our ancestors return from the afterlife. These are the two times of the year when people who work in Japan get a little longer holiday.

The sense of time, which usually changes in the New Year, seems to have continued uninterrupted in 2020 and 2021. This may have something to do with the fact that the Olympic Games have been postponed for a year. In the past, when things were not as convenient as they are now, we used to respect festivals that were rooted in the Japanese culture, but that was a long time ago. But we can't go back in time, and even if we could, it wouldn't make any sense. So we should at least try not to become No-face people lost a sense of belonging.

all about the end of the year around me 1

After Halloween, Christmas music is gradually played and the streets are decorated with lights. In recent years, my city has even started to imitate the European, Perhaps German, as we have a sister city, Christmas markets. The excitement before the end of the shortest day of the year and the coming year is the same everywhere to everyone. In Japan, at a lower latitude than in Europe and other countries, the darkness and the short hours of daylight are not as acutely felt, but I can understand how the early sunset can still be depressing. How do you feel about this season?

Halloween is a second or third... version of Christmas, using foreign customs as an opportunity to promote sales, and for more than a decade the city has been filled with Halloween decorations in October. It's been a long time that Valentine's Day is generally used as a day for women to send chocolates to men to confess their love, and soon Easter may be used as well? Japanese people really enjoy imported culture. We modify it to our own liking, though. I'm getting sidetracked. To be continued next time.

India🇮🇳 a paradise of fertility👘

NO.006 India インド

I chose this one because I fell in love with it at first sight. In a word, CUTE - 可愛い kawaii in Japanese!

Sponsored by (株)日立製作所 HITACHI, Ltd. In recent years, Hitachi has made a name for itself in the manufacture of rolling stock.

f:id:hshoyo:20220131172822j:plain
Image Reference:
着物で世界をひとつに!平和への壮大な夢が詰まったKIMONOプロジェクトとは?! | [楽活]rakukatsu - 日々楽シイ生活ヲ

Kimono by 大羊居 Taiyokyo

The creation of this kimono was carried out together with the fourth grade (9 to 10 y/o) students of Taimei Elementary School in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, and Tokyo Yuzen 大羊居, which has been in existence since the Edo period (1603-1868). The design features Indian elephants, peacocks, the Taj Mahal, lotus and other motifs that are typical of India, peeping through the silhouette of a window frame. The sun shines brightly on the right shoulder. The designs drawn by children are placed in the right places to create a dreamy and interesting impression.

f:id:hshoyo:20220131172356p:plain
Image Reference:
「インド」に込めた技術と想い Kimono Project - CAMPFIRE (キャンプファイヤー)

Obi by 宮岸織物 監修 帛撰 Miyagishi-Orimono, Supervised by Hakusen

The theme is 'A paradise of fertility'. A rich nature with various flowers blooming and birds flying around, the paradise of life is woven in an exotic and bright colour scheme based on a bright yellow ground colour.

kimono.piow.jp

The fact that the kimono, designed with the children, is so cute is proof of the children's own ingenuity and thought, and I'd like to thank everyone involved. As I think it would be blessing that if children could be children in their own way.

I'm taking a short break from translation😪 It seems that the kimonos of African countries already have translations in English or French. Enjoy!

Malaysia🇲🇾 a fusion of East and West👘

NO.038 Malaysia マレーシア

Sponsored by SAIBUGAS Co.,Ltd. 西部ガス

Kimono by Takehana-Sensho タケハナ染匠

f:id:hshoyo:20220131175047p:plain
It was designed with the students of Kurume High School in Fukuoka. The stripes, stars and moon on the national flag of Malaysia and the national symbol, the Petronas Twin Towers, were featured prominently. The number of hibiscus, the national flower, is 40, the same as the number of students in the class. The bright colours of traditional batik were also incorporated to create a youthful image of Malaysia, which has been growing rapidly in recent years.

Obi by Hattori Orimono Co., Ltd. 服部織物

f:id:hshoyo:20220131181543p:plain
Focusing on the Peranakan culture, pattern dyeing - 更紗 are gorgeously hand-woven using genuine gold leaf.

Image Reference:
Kimono Project (I~Z) – somosomo and kimono.piow.jp

I'm thinking about where to go next✈️ Maybe I should introduce you to some kimonos with patterns that I liked at a glance, well then, next time I'll work on India!