2018-06-03

Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.749

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Hi, how are you? I'm Azusa writing.
It is like summer already here in Japan. Especially on the other day, it was so hot that I was exhausted even when I was just sitting in my house. I tried turning on the air-conditioner, when I found there was something wrong with it. It didn't work well and browing lukewarm air, and the room became warmer and warmer. I was lost in the room, eating ice cream, which a little cooled me down.

I remember the 'warabimochi', a sweet snack, my grandmother would often buy on such a day at a supermarket and cool in the refrigerator when I was a child. When she had took it out from the refrigerator, I felt that it made the air of the room a little nicer and cooler.

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'Warabimochi' is a typical summer sweet in Japan especially in the Kansai region. It is a ball-shaped translucent sweet, like jelly, and a little chewy. It is cold and refreshing, and cools you down. It is dipped in the sweet flour called Kinako, and sometimes black sugar syrup is poured onto it. You can buy it at a supermarket or have it at a restaurant. Or in Osaka, mobile catering vehicles sell it singing like "Waaaraabiiimochiii". When I heard them, I really feel like the summer has come.

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Let me introduce these refreshing summer kimonos and obis!

www.ichiroya.com

http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/

www.ichiroya.com

2018-05-27

Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.748

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Jun K | Flickr

Hello, ICHIROYA newsletter readers!
How are you doing?
This is Iori writing again.

May is almost over. It’s getting warmer and warmer, even hot here in Japan.
It is the time to plant rice in Japan. Most of you already know that Japanese live on rice. Japanese love rice.
In this season, you can see many rice fields are filled with water. Rice fields glisten in the sunlight and this scenery is beautiful.
When I see this scenery every time in a year, I feel 'Summer is coming soon.'

There are rice fields called ‘Tanada’ in the countryside. ‘Tanada’ means rice fields arranged in a staircase pattern on a very steep slope on a mountain. This is also beautiful and you could see the old Japanese wisdom to get better harvest at the hard place like a sloping land in mountain. A lot of people come to take the photo of ‘Tanada’ in this rice-planting season.

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Go Uryu | Flickr

Here is a proverb, ‘Minoruhodo Koubewotareru Inahokana.’ This proverb means ‘The boughs that bear most hang lowest.’ or ‘The more noble, the more humble. in English.
My father always told me this meaning. I like this phrase and want to be such a person.

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kamonegi_jp | Flickr

2018-05-20

Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.747

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Bundle & Sale #374678 Kimono Flea Market Ichiroya

Dear Newsletter readers,

Hello, this is Mari. It's my turn to write this week's newsletter.
I introduced some of our customer's works which they use those fabric
pieces we put into packages. I would like to share more works which
they use not only those small pieces, but also our fabric bolts and
kimono

Ms. B in Hannover, Germany made this accessory from our fabric pieces.
Aren't they cute? Although I see kimono fabric bolt everyday, I had no idea
to make something like them.

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Mr. G in Tronto, Canada made pretty cool shirts from our fabric and Yukata.
These shirts was made from the shibori(tie-dye) fabric. As you may know,
shibori cotton is very soft and the bumpy texture is comfortable.
The collar and cuffs are well designed!

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shibori obi shirt 1

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www.ichiroya.com

Look! How perfectly the zigzag pattern was matched!

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Kimono #289078 Kimono Flea Market Ichiroya

Also, he made jackets from our "Sakiori" obi.
According to Mr. G, "The zipper is hidden, so all you see is the fabric design and texture.
The sleeves are dark, so the lighter Sakiori fabric stands out."
How cool!

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www.ichiroya.com

You may wonder who made the shirts and jackets.
Mr. G, himself? Maybe, maybe not.
Well, he is generous enough to share his hidden treasure.
Ms. Maegan McWade is his seamstress who made all those
cool clothes out of items from Ichiroya.
If you are interested in her work, visit her shop!

Shoppe and Tailor

You may need to get material first!
Following, please check our shibori and sakiori fabrics!
<shibori>

www.ichiroya.com

www.ichiroya.com

If you make something special from Ichiroya items,
please let us know. We would like to share any idea
with our customers!

Thank you for reading til the end. Ciao!

2018-05-13

Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.746

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Hello everyone! Ogenki desuka? This is Yoko desu.

The Golden Week is over, and I am already looking forward to my long Obon holiday in August.
Don't get me wrong, I love working at Ichiroya, but we all need something to look forward to in life, right?
So, I have started writing down list of things to do during my Obon holiday. hahaha lol I enjoy doing things like that!!!
The first thing on my list is to take my beagle Marin to a river. Care to come along? :)
I took the above photo of Marin and Renge(Chinese milk vetch) Batake during the Golden Week. Isn't it pretty?

Oh!! I would like to use this opportunity to thank a nice lady who asked Yuka about Marin at the Haura exhibition in NYC!!
Yes, Marin is doing great! We will celebrate her eighth birthday next month.
She has been with us for more than three years now, and we cannot think of a life without her!! Arigato!

Today, I have a rather unique topic! fufufu
Have you heard of Gacha?
Well, Gacha is a toy-vending machine.
It dispenses a plastic eggshell capsule which contains from a kind of miniature toy, smart phone accessory to Manga figure, etc.
Gacha was originated in Japan, and it is also known by Gashapon or Gacha Gacha.
Gacha is an onomatopoeia Japanese word, and it is used for the hand-cranking action. I think the sound translates to 'clank' in English, but I am not sure.

Gashapon - Wikipedia

It has been around... well... since I was a child, so more than forty years now.

Capsules are mostly colored, so you do not know what is inside the shell until you actually open one. Isn't it quite thrilling?!
When I was a child, I grabbed one hundred yen coin as soon as I returned home from school and run to a nearby local store with my older brother to play Gacha. (Natsukashiii)

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For a while, the Gacha was mainly for kids, but it is becoming quite popular among adults now.
You place 100 or 200 yen in Gacha machine, and turn this tight knob(this is where it sounds Gacha!) .
A capsule should dispense (drop!) from the machine. You need to catch it fast!, or it will slip by your hands.
My favorite Gacha series now is an Animal Gacha.
It makes me smile big when there is my favorite animal figure inside when I open it.
Gacha machines are located everywhere in Japan, but since they are becoming quite popular among tourists, you can find lines of Gacha at airports and train stations nowadays.
Hope you find your favorite Gacha when you visit Japan next time.

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Here are some Kids Yukata with very Natsukashi patterns which reminds me of my childhood!

Yukata

www.ichiroya.com

Heko obi

www.ichiroya.com

Have you also seen these cool NY obi and Kimono from Kimonotte?

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https://www.kimonotte.com/en/products/index?m%5B%5D=99

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https://www.kimonotte.com/en/products/index?m%5B%5D=97&m%5B%5D=98

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https://www.kimonotte.com/en/products/index?i%5B%5D=2&m%5B%5D=96

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https://www.kimonotte.com/en/products/index?m%5B%5D=97&m%5B%5D=98

Those design are from vintage postcard collection. We already have some orders from customers. We can make summer type haori also with the same design.

Wishing you a happy and fun weekend!!

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2018-05-06

Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.745

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Benson Kua | Flickr

Dear Ichiroya news letter readers,

Hello! This is Nagisa writing. How have you been? It's very comfortable season here in Osaka. By the way, have you checked Kimonotte new items yet? They have a design of the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building! They are so eye-catching design, aren't they? They stand out even if you're in the crowd for sure!

https://www.kimonotte.com/en/products/detail/m:96/c:7/i:2
https://www.kimonotte.com/jp/products/detail/m:98/c:15/i:2
https://www.kimonotte.com/en/products/detail/m:97/c:2/i:7

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Today, I'd like to talk about Teruko Sensei again. Just a week ago, I attended a funeral held for her. She is a college teacher, and I met her at the college 10 years ago. She was also a patient of serious disease since then. However, she worked energetically while fighting against the disease. She was always thinking of students, became kind and listened to their dream or worry. She is the person who can make people around her happy.

It got harder and harder to walk and breathe for her, but she kept attending college riding an electric wheelchair and carrying an oxygen until last year. She had hospitalized since 2 months ago, and she had kept writing her serious condition, thought, complaint and hope on her facebook amusingly almost everyday. When I noticed that her post was stopped for a couple of days, sad news has arrived at me. She was 55 year-old.

The funeral held at a church in Kyoto titled 'Celebration of Life'. "I want my funeral to be hold cheerfully, not to be feel sad about my death. I hope everyone will celebrate 'Life', not only mine but also themselves at the funeral." I hear that she told her family and friends so in her lifetime. So that, it was prohibited to wear black mourning clothes. Also, she used to work as an AIDS counselor for a long time, and pushed the event named 'KG rainbow week' which is held once a year at the college sine several years ago to deepen understanding. So, we went there dressed up with colorful or bright colors clothes like a rainbow flag. I heard that it started to rain all of sudden, and a rainbow hung over the church before the funeral.

"Thank you for showing us your own weakness. Therefore we can reveal our true self to you." My senior told her in his last message. Then, I understood that's why we need her. Over 500 people came there. Men, Women and neither of them of all ages. 'Blending community' is one of her ideal concept. She also hope we will meet someone who has same will at the funeral. Of course, I miss her so much. However, I saw her will has been handed down to many people. Teruko Sensei still alive in our mind. I'm glad to have met her from the bottom of my heart. Rest in Peace, Sensei.

I hope you enjoy these colorful design items like a rainbow.

<< Kimono >>
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/394692/
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/405356/
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/410141/
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/401535/

<< Obi >>
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/404038/
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/397142/
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/378766/
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/403390/

2018-04-29

Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.744

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Our office will be closed on the weekend and the following days for the Golden Week holiday. April 30, May 3 and 4 During this holiday, no new items will be listed, and we won't be able to reply to any emails or process shipments. Thank you so much for your understanding and consideration.

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Dear ICHIROYA newsletter readers.

How are you doing? This is Mitsue writing. Spring is a season of wedding ceremony, even though 'June bride' has become popular in Japan. My friend's daughter married last week and my daughter and I attended the ceremony in Kobe. We have been keeping in touch since our children were babies. My family was living in Fukuoka prefecture at that time, and I took my children to the nearby park every day. I met many friends there and played together all day long. Most of them moved to Fukuoka from other areas like us because of their husband's business. We moved to other areas again, and finally settled down in Tokyo and Osaka. Only the bride's family remained in Fukuoka. To attend the wedding ceremony, we all got together in Kobe like a reunion. I was so happy to meet them after a long time.
We enjoyed the wedding party with delicious French dishes, having chat and taking photos. The ceremony was Western style, so the bride wore dresses. The invited girls wore Furisode, and their mothers wore Houmongi kimono. I wore reddish purple Iromuji with kamon(family crest) on the nape coordinating with silver Fukuro obi.

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The bride's mother looked so happy, but lonely at the same time. From now on, the bride live in Kobe, far from Fukuoka. I wonder how would I feel if my daughter and son got married in the future. Well, today please enjoy the back sides of Obi which were coordinating with Furisode. The professional dressing stylists got the girls worn. They are artistic, aren't they?

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Now, I introduce reasonable formal kimonos for the wedding ceremony. It would be a chance to wear formal kimono, if you are invited to a ceremony in June. Oh, I cannot choose enough, because we have much more items than shown below. So, please check the Ichiroya HP. Thank you reading to the end. Hope you enjoy Kimono with us.

Furisode

(with juban)

Iromuji with Kamon

Houmongi

2018-04-13

Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.742

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アルムバンド | Flickr

Hi, this is Azusa writing again. Here in Osaka, it's getting warmer and warmer and the cherry blossom season is getting almost over. In Japan, when we say "flower" it often means cherry blossoms. Every spring, I get restless when seeing cherry blossom is coming out, and miss them when they are out of bloom. They are in bloom for only two weeks, and the flowers are special for me, and for almost every Japanese people, I believe.

For one thing, cherry blossoms sometimes reminds me of a somewhat uneasy feeling about new school, in a still a bit cold weather, and a smell of new textbook. In Japan, a new school year began in April. Most schools have a lot of cherry trees planted in the school yard and during graduation ceremonies or entrance ceremonies, they are always there, in full blossom.

Cherry trees grow throughout Japan from the south to the north, from Okinawa to Hokkaido. We are waiting for them to come out every year, so every March, the Japan Meteorological Agency analyzes and predicts the flowering dates of them and announce the cherry blossom forecast. We are really earnest about it. That is in news every day during the spring every year. The cherry blossom forecast called "the cherry blossom front". It moved from the south to the north, with beautiful flowers blooming.

When spring has come, many Japanese people have cherry blossom viewing party. It's traditional and called O-Hanami. That is one of the reason the cherry blossom front is in news. We usually eat, sing a song, and get drunk under cherry blossoms.

Today, I would like to introduce kimonos with a cherry blossom pattern!

www.ichiroya.com

<Obi>

www.ichiroya.com

There are weeping cherry blossoms, which have blanches like a willow, and tremendously beautiful!

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