Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.786
Dear news letter readers.
Hi, how are you? This is Azusa writing.
When I noticed it, March has already come.
It always seems to me that February starts before I realize it starts, and ends before I realize it ends. I even feel like it's still January. It has been a little warmer here, though.
Speaking of March, we have Hina-matsuri, the girls' festival, on March 3rd in Japan.
Every year families with girls celebrate the festival displaying Hina dolls to pray for the girls' health and happiness. I also used to start displaying the dolls when the Hina-matsuri get closer. Hina dolls are beautiful in traditional Japanese kimonos such as junihitoe, a twelve-layered kimono of the Heian period, a thousand year ago. I was excited when I opened the box in which the dolls were resting and saw them again!
We also have sweets for Hina-matsuri. They are sweet rice crackers called Hina-arare. When I displayed the dolls, my brother was always coming and picking them without helping us to display.
The colors of Hina-arare are pink, green, yellow and white, which is very cute!
We have very pretty kimonos and obis with a design of ladies like Hina-dolls!
<kimono>
<obi>
By the way, I think March is the greatest season to visit Japan. It's warm and comfortable, and peach blossoms is beautiful in March. So peach blossoms are also displayed with the Hina dolls.
Sakura(cherry blossoms) also begins to bloom in the middle of March, and the blooming forecast has announced!
https://tenki.jp/sakura/expectation/
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a nice weekend!
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.785
How are you doing?
This time Iori is writing.
This winter, we are having weird weather in Japan. It is snowy cold sometimes and then it gets warm like if the spring has come.
It is hard for me to manage the health in good condition with this weather.
We went climbing Mt.Kongo, which located on the south part of Osaka and relatively easy to climb up for people of all ages.
We enjoyed making a snowman, doing snowball fight, and sledging on top of the mountain.
We also went skiing to Nagano prefecture.
It was the first time for my kids to ski.
They really enjoyed it.
Its retro and cute pattern would add to the charm of your kimono style!
They are sprouts and buds of plants and called an early spring delicacy.
It was good and I felt spring has come just around the corner.
I am looking forward to dress up in pastel color clothes or flower design clothes!
The colorful and kawaii kimono, obi and other items should lift you up!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.784
Have you already watched the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody"?
I did, and abuso-bloody-lutely loved it! It is a blockbuster in Japan! The film so far
drew audiences totaling 8.2 million , and its box-office revenue is exceeding
11.4 billion JPY (103 million USD) as of February 12th.
I'm one of them.
For the first time, I watched it at a movie theater by myself. It was a regular
screening which every audience was sitting still, and watching quietly.
Well, I really wanted to make some noise and sing while I was watching it!
So, I decided to go to a Sing-Along! Believe it or not, I'm a kind of person who really
appreciate and enjoy this kind of event. Decades ago, I was a member of the Far
East fun club of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". I took a roll of Magenta in a french maid
uniform, and play, sang and danced at movie theaters! Let's do the time warp again!
just like Freddie left his home in the morning of Live Aid. I wore black leather
jackets on top of white wife-beaters. I didn't forget to put my mustache on.
Aid stage. The lady who was seating right next to me praised my costume and mustache. I asked
her "Have you ever seen this movie before?" She said "This is my ninth time!".
OMG! See! This is the reason why this movie is such a huge blockbuster in such a
small island country which has only 120 million population!
entertainment which never let audiences bored. For the last 21 minutes of the movie,
I sang, screamed, clapped and stomped as if I were at Live Aid! Bohemian Rhapsody,
Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions! We all can sing those Queen's
mega hit songs, right? Their performance still attracts audiences in 21st century soooo much!
We now realize that Queen has been a part of every single one of our life!
After the show, people started gathering around me, and asking to take pictures with me. hahaha!
I had a bloody great time!
at home. Also, he wore kimono inspired costumes when he performed in Japan. He looks bloody cool in Kimono!
If you image search "freddie mercury kimono", you see lots of images of him wearing Furisode like costume.
like he wore!
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/428844/
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/432290/
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/419326/
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/438608/
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/403867/
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/400484/
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/403170/
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/424159/
Thank you for reading until the end.
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.783
Yoko is writing this weekend's newsletter. I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.
Monday is a national holiday in Japan, so we are having a three days weekend. yahooo!!!
So far there are 60 different patterns that he came up with, and can you guess which obi has the most sale?
(drums) Yes, you guessed it right.
https://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/436789/
I am not jealous! but I think he should make an obi with design of Marin ! hahaha just joking.
http://www.ichiroya.com/sp/list.php?spid=S5c6183971ca4f
You might have seen them already, they too are available.https://www.ichiroya.com/sp/list.php?spid=S5bf5e56d9b5e4
This one has famous Usagi to Kame, The Tortoise and the Hare, design.
www.ichiroya.com
www.ichiroya.com
She LOVES getting in the Kotatsu with me.
In Japan, it is said that Inu(dogs) loves the cold but Neko(cats) doesn't. It is not the case for Marin, definitely!
On January 1, Gantan, like last year, we visited my parents place in Nara.
We had Osechi in the morning and visited the Kashihara Jingu shrine afterwards.
Of course, I handed Otoshidama, New Years tradition of giving children money, to my kids.
Of course, they seemed really happy, but my empty wallet wasn't! hahaha
Here are some of the photos I took at the Kashihara Jingu. The Gantan was sunny and warm!
My kids enjoyed snacking at some food stands on the way to the main shrine and back.
I guess that is the most fun part about Hatsumoude!?
this get together which only happens twice a year, Oshogatsu and Obon.
Thank you so much for reading my newsletter!!!
Next up is Mari!
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.782
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.781
Almost a month has passed since new year began. I caught a cold and kept sleeping with stomachache during the holidays. I finished cooking Osechi dishes before the New Year's Day, and ate Ozoni in the next morning. Then, suddenly I felt something strange with my stomach. 'Is it food poisoning?' I asked to myself. 'No, no, my son is good and similar symptom does not come out with him.' I replied. Fortunately I had no fever, so I could read some books and watching TV in bed. I thought I spent busy time at the end of the last year, so God gave me a rest in the beginning of a year.
Talking about my private matter, I am a member of an orchestra of Chinese instrument. I play Niko (two strings fiddle) and Kosou (Chinese harp). We perform a concert annually and visit somewhere to play together with other orchestra. I went to Tokyo and Kyoto to play last year, and sometimes plays at a church and a home for elderly people as a volunteer.
At the end of the last year, I played 'Haru no umi' (The Sea in Spring) with an orchestra member. It is a music for Japanese instruments of 'Koto'(Japanese harp) and 'Shakuhachi' (five-holed bamboo flute) composed in 1929 by Michio Miyagi, and known for one of the most famous pieces for New year. We tried to play with Chinese harp and Western flute. It was an interesting trial and we practiced over a year.
Miyagi composed this piece from his childhood image of the sea from the port town of 'Tomonoura' (in Fukuyama city of Hiroshima prefecture) that he saw before he lost his eyesight. I had lived in Fukuyama city for 5 years since my husband transferred there. We often drive there to see beautiful scenery and eat delicious sea food. Tomonoura has been a prosperous port since ancient times. Its unique circular harbor was preserved even after modern port facilities were introduced. So 'Tomonoura' is very calm and quiet place facing to the 'Setonaikai' (Seto inland sea). There are many historical temples and shrines around there, and the area is famous for red sea bream fishing. Tomonoura is the spot where the Iroha Maru, a ship belonging to Sakamoto Ryoma had sunk. It is a very historical port town, so I recommend to visit there if you come to Japan.
Today I introduce some pieces with musical instrument design. I hope you like them. Thank you for reading.