imperial dolls --new ones

I’d like to start with dolls representing the Emperor and Empress, placed on the top layer.
At department stores, probably you'd get mass-produced brand new sets, like these ones.
I’d rather explore the old ones from a century ago or two, getting handed down from generation to generation.
You see ‘the Empress doll’ on their left, and ‘the Emperor doll’ on their right. This is Kyoto style placement, which is different from the standard placement.

Hinamatsuri, Doll's Day or Girls' Day

Hinamatsuri , Doll's Day or Girls' Day, celebrated each year on March 3 is a special day in Japan. People display a set of ornamental dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period, wishing their daughters growing up healthily. The custom began during the Heian period.
Families generally start to display the dolls in February and take them down after the festival, but here in Gokashō, a town in mid Shiga Prefecture, they keep its display until the end of March. The town is also known for having produced many successful merchants. One area is designated as Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

fan tossing game

There is a traditional ‘fan tossing game’. After placing a target that looks like a gingko leaf on a wooden box, the players sit on their knees at a distance of about one meter, and take turns tossing an open fan at the target. Then the judge scores them based on the patterns of the positions of the fan, target, and box. As you see at the bottom of this page , there are numbers of patterns the three objects end up displayed after the tossing.
Each pattern is assigned a certain score depending on the aesthetics of the positions and how much skills and luck it takes to make them happen.
Those patterns are named after the chapters of Murasaki Shikibu's " The Tale of Genji ".
At Kuroda shop in front of Kyoto Imperial Palace where they dress you up in ‘junihitoe’, they let us a try of this game. kuroda-heisiti@offce.to

kimono of highly elegance 2

The colours of the layers have poetic names, such as "crimson plum of the spring".
The arrangements of the layers and their colours were a good indication what taste and what rank the lady had. The person who dresses her can stand behind her, but has to be on their knees in order to show her modesty.
An elaborate fan was used by the lady not only to cool herself, but also as an important communication device. The jūnihitoe started to appear around the 10th century. As the era went on, the dress was reduced to a "five-layer robe". Even today, members of the Japanese royal family wear junhitoe for the most special of occasions.
It takes half an hour to get dressed, but takes just a moment to undress.

kimono of highly elegance

The jūnihitoe is an extremely elegant and highly complex kimono worn by court-ladies. Literally, it means "twelve-layer robe". The various layers are silk garments.
The innermost garment is white, followed by other layers, finally closed off by a final layer or coat. The graduation from white to red represents the way Japanese plum flowers come into a bloom. Plum flower design is all over the plain white, pink and vermillion layer. The plain green expresses the calyx. The total weight could add up to 20 kilograms.

grated daikon 'radish' arts

daikon ‘radish’ is usually serves with fish foods. It help with digestion. These exquisite grated radish arts are spreading on twitter.　
The recipe is. here

cool masks

People out there may get scared by the sight of many people wearing masks in public in Japan. No pandemic. It happens as often as it does in your place. You may suspect that one of them will pull out a gun and rob something. However, NOBODY does. Stats say Japan is one of the safest countries with one of the lowest crime rates. Although a mask doesn’t stop germs completely, it does quite a lot . It also keeps your mouth damp, and moisture in your mouth makes viruses less active.

Masks today are more comfy to wear. They are 3 dimensional in a way and have some inner space. Some have a subtle aroma to soothe you. Some have pop or chic designs to pretty you up. You can change them according to your mood or fashion. They are washable and sustainable.

Happy valentine's day

On St. valentine’s day, girls give chocolate to boys they love in Japan. Japanese chocolate companies make half their annual sales during this time of the year.
There is a giant billboard that looks like a chocolate bar, measuring 166 meters in width and 28m in height, at a Meiji chocolate factory in Osaka. To spot it from JR train, see the northern side, between Settsutonda and Takatsuki stations.

new year's eve and ume flowers

Tonight is new year’s eve on Japanese traditional calendar, which is similar to Chinese calendar but slightly different. That means, officially tomorrow will be the first day of spring.
Japanese apricot flowers, a sign of early spring are blooming.