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Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.755
http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2/363902/
Hello Ichiroya news letter readers! How are you doing?
This time Iori is writing.
The rainy season is over here in Osaka. It's been hot and humid these days! I can't stand it without an air conditioner. Last night I could not sleep well with this heat so I turned the air conditioner on till the morning.
Actually I don't want to sleep with the air conditioner because I feel tired when I wake up. I have tried some ways to get cooler sleep, for example an ice pillow, a cool bed sheet, a fan and so on. I need to find the better way this summer, too.
Do you have any good idea to get over the heat in summer?
eat shaved ice? go to swim at a pool or the sea? or maybe drink cold beer at night??
In summer, I look forward to something. That is 'Yomise'. 'Yomise' literally means a night shop. We have lots of summer festivals such as fireworks, 'Bonodori'(dance festival) and so on. There are food stalls and game stands at the festival which you can get yummy foods or play fun games. We called them 'Yomise'. When I was a child, my parents always took me to summer festivals. My favorite food and game at 'yomise' were 'wataame'(cotton candy) and 'Kingyo sukui'(goldfish scooping). Now I am a parent of three kids and I take them to summer festivals. They enjoy playing games such as 'Yo-yo'(water balloon) scooping, quoits, hitting a target.They also love cotton candies. It reminds me of my old sweet memories.
Indi and Rani Soemardjan | Flickr
You can see lots of people of all ages in Yukata Kimono at summer festivals. Yukata textile is cotton or linen as it feels cool while wearing. There are many designs and patterns such as seasonal flowers, fish, fan, dragonfly, butterfly, swallow, stream and so on. The yukata designs look refreshing and cool. Yukata is easier to get dressed than the way of Kimono.
I have not worn Yukata for these past years because I had to carry my kid on my back. I want to wear it this year with my kids. I got children's yukata already but I still don't have mine! Hmm... I need to look for a good one at Ichiroya maybe....
If you don't get used to wear Kimono, would you like to try Yukata at first?
We are now offering lots of attractive and Kawaii Yukata at Ichiroya web site!
You may find a good one on sale maybe :)
We would be very happy to help you to find your favorite one.
Here is our Youtube video to show how to wear yukata:
For your informaiton,
We sell "How to wear kimono" DVD on our site too. It includes the yukata dressing to
most typical square bow(otaiko) and a fancy bow tie (fukurasuzume) for formal kimono`furisode'.
Today, I introduce Yukata and Kimono for summer.
yukata
yukata for boys and girls
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summer kimono
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Please enjoy wearing yukata and kimono in summer!
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice weekend!
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.754
Dear Newsletter readers,
Hello, this is Mari. It's my turn to write Ichiroya's weekly newsletter.
It is still rainy season. I think we haven't have enough rain so far.
I think I should dance in kimono to pray for rain!
A little while ago, I went to Uji, Kyoto to attend "Sencha" demonstration.
"Sencha" is green tea which is not powdered, as opposed to Matcha.
You may be familier with "Matcha" which is a bowl of whisked and creamy green tea.
It was a "Sencha" tea ceremony for the first time in my life.One of our customers,
Ms. Ueda in California, USA invited me to the event. She flew in Japan for the specific
event! If you are not farmilier with Sencha, please take a look at Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sencha
It was one of the biggest Sencha demonstrations in Japan. 13 different schools
from all over Japan gathered at a big temple in Kyoto for the weekend. Each
school has different manners. We attended three different schools' ceremonies
in different rooms. Each room was very unique and interesting.
The first one we attended was held at a hall. They served two cups of tea and
a sweet. The tea was sooooo goooood! The luke tea was not bitter, but almost
salty.
The teacher of this school told us she likes "Matsu"(pine tree). So, the saucers
and sweet had pine needles pattern on them. Actually, all the students who were
serving tea wore green iromuji with woven pine needle pattern. It was impressive
view.
The second one was held at a room with unique sliding doors. The dynamic drawings
entertained guests very much at beginning.
The second cup of tea was pour in front of us. The way they serve tea was efficient
yet elegant.
The last ceremony we attended was held at the large room where had more than 20 guests
at a time. The school was from Kyushu area, far west of Japan. They brought all the
tools and tea. There is a famous tea produce center "Yame" in Kyushu. So, they brought
"Yamecha"("Yame" tea) all the way from Kyushu to Kyoto.
Some of disciples who served us were very young girls in cute kids kimono.
They did very good job, and impressed all the guest.
It was very interesting expeience. I had such a good time. I have to thank Ms. Ueda who invited me to this great event. We promised to attend next year, too. Oh, I forgot to mention that me and Ms. Ueda were wearing kimono and obi which we bought from Ichiroya! The white Oshima hitoe which I wore is the one I washed by myself:-)
(Here is the past newsletter about `washing my Oshima kimono')
Most of the people at the event were wearing kimono. I think "Iromuji" is
all time favorite at tea ceremony. There are summer Iromuji for those who will attend
tea ceremonies in this summer!
Thank you for reading until the end.
See you next time!
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.753
Hello everyone.
This is Yoko writing this week's newsletter. Ogenki desuka?
I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.
Water is drawn into nearby rice patties, and Taue , rice planting, has been done.
Sunset shows beautifully against rice patties, summer is almost here. :)
Oh! Did you know we can now ship by DHL?
If you are interested, please ask for a comparison when you place your order. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Today, I would like to write about a family of Tsubame (swallows) that built a nest in our building.
Each year, a couple of charming Tsubame build a nest just under a corner of our first floor ceiling, next to an elevator of our building.
Tsubame come back every year. They renovate the nest which is already there from the previous year to bring a new family.
After a while, you see one adult Tsubame sitting quietly, at that point, we all assume.....expecting??? with a smile.
After a few weeks, we hear very weak chirping, and after weeks more or so, we find thin soft short hair peeking out and moving slowly over the nest.
Well, in some years, eggs do not hatch successfully because of predators like crows, snakes or mouses come to hunt them. (tear)
It looks like this year has been lucky.
The owner of our building tries really hard to take care of the nest, too.
He tries hanging a CD-ROM to scare the predators away (well it does not seem to scare the Tsubame away....) and place a mat under the nest for their droppings. How sweet is that!!
Soon after, you see cute heads of babies with mouth wide open waiting for their parents to feed them.
Before you knew, a few full grown haired Tsubame just trying not to knock each other out of the nest.
Well then, just this Monday morning, they were gone!! They must have flew off over the weekend... A bit sad but glad that they were grown safely.
See you guys next year! Bye-bye!
Tsubame are known to be an auspicious animal in Japan.
It is told that they bring happiness to a house that they decides to make a nest on.
It is perhaps because they are always a pair and make a lot of babies.
They sure bring us smiles and make us cheerful each time!
You must know by now that you find many kimono and obi with Tsubame motif?
Thanks for reading until the end.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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The omoshiroi work of Itsuki
Welocme to Itsuki World!
We went to her exhibition for the first time. Her theme is always Itsuki, herself!
The big Itsuki with ears of cats welcome you, and yes, Itsuki is standing next to her work!
Itsuki pops up here and there!
More and more Itsuki, looking at you!
All these Itsuki are so unique but we can tell they are all Itsuki.
Each work can tell it is her, and we really enjoyed the exhibition.
After graduationg from art college in Kyoto, majoring in textile, she has been doing the same theme since then. She never thought about working full time, but continues her art work consistently. She even dyed kimono with this motif (her face!).
This one (the title is Neko-san) is shibori dyed and itome yuzen.
Strong impression, and her whimsical work make us smile- we could not help bringing a wicked look Itsuki home! I am sure she will bring us smiles at her new home.
I hope you enjoy her work! She keeps other work at her place too-if you are interested in her work, contact us any time:-)
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.752
Hi! This is Nagisa writing again. How have you been? By the way, do you know why 'Nagoya Obi' is called Nagoya Obi? 'Nagoya' is a place-name in Japan. According to a theory, Nagoya Obi was born there around Taisho Period(1912-1926), and spread throughout Japan. It's located in the western part of Aichi Prefecture, and we can go to there only two hours by express train from Osaka. Last month, I visited there with my friends for the first time. I'd like to talk to you about the events of the day in Nagoya.
First, we went to Atsuta Jingu Shinto Shrine in the morning. It's famous for spiritual place called 'Power Spot' in Japanese, and enshrined the God of match-making. Yes, we're all single, so we desired strongly to find good match in near future! Though it has been one and a half months from that day, none of us get it so far...
We ate Taiwan noodle, one of the famous local food in Nagoya, and we headed for Nagoya Castle in the evening. It's one of the three greatest castle in Japan, and it was built in 1610 on the order of Ieyasu Tokugawa. Unfortunately, we can't enter the castle because of the repair work, but Honmaru-Goten was opened instead. It was once designated a national treasure, but burnt down by an air raid in war. The restoration work was started in 2009, and we can see the almost all areas of its inside. There are luxurious paintings of 'Fusuma' (sliding partition) and ceiling, relieves of 'Ranma' (transom window), and decorated metal parts restored faithfully. Finally, it has been completed in this month, so you can see the all areas from now on!
Speaking of Nagoya Castle, it has the golden Shachihoko which is the symbol of it. There were so many souvenirs with brilliant gold color sold at shops and restaurant nearby the castle. LOOK! This is the soft-serve ice cream decorated with gold foils. Have you ever seen such a gorgeous soft-serve? Though its price was 980 Yen, we decided to eat it for the memory of this trip as soon as we found it.
There is one more thing that we were fascinated with. Here it is ! This is the stature of Kiyomasa Kato. He is a general who was known as skillful castle builder. He build the stone wall of the castle, too. This statue is reproduced the scene that Kiyomasa encouraged his subordinates on a large stone. The large stone named 'Kiyomasa Ishi' was also displayed among the stone wall, but it says that it was brought by Nagamasa Kuroda, not Kiyomasa. And, the lord of the castle was Yoshinao Tokugawa who was Ieyasu's ninth son, not Kiyomasa! Yayakoshiiiii! However, we don't know who is he at that time. We just love his pose! We enjoyed taking pictures here and there with Kiyomasa pose.
!There are some items of castle design with Japanese scenery!
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Lastly, we went to see Teru san at night. It was the main purpose of this trip. He is our senior in college, and I was supposed to meet him for the first time in five or six years. However, we gathered unexpectedly at the funeral of Teruko Sensei, so it has been two weeks sine we had last met actually. He showed us the slide which was projected during the funeral, and told us some episodes with Teruko Sensei. We talked together about memories with her while laughing, crying, drinking and drinking. He may be tell me some heart-warming stories as he used to be. However, I don't really remember what he talked about with deep grief. I believe that it never caused by alcohol. Never...! After that, I almost checked in at a mistaken hotel, though.
Thank you for reading till the end. I'm doing fine thanks to big love from people around me. See you next time!
Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.751
Dear Newsletter readers,
Hello, this is Mitsue writing. How are you doing?
Rainy season has started last week in Osaka and will continue for about a month. This season is called 'Tsuyu' in Japanese, literally means 'Ume' (plum blossom) rain. It is said plum fruits are picked in this season for Umeboshi, plum wine and etc.
'Ajisai'(hydrangea) blooms in this season and it is one of my favorite flowers. However, I have a sad old memory of 'Ajisai'(hydrangea). My friend suffered from uterine cancer, and entered a hospital. As soon as I heard about her disease, I visited the hospital to see her and cherish her up with 'Ajisai'(hydrangea). Because it was her favorite flower. We chatted for a while and I thought she would recover soon. She looked so good chatting, laughing and walking, and she saw me off at the hospital entrance with smiling. That was the last time I saw her, she passed away a month later. She just became 30 years old and had a fiance. I cried and cried with her mother. Good memories of traveling, driving and climbing mountains are still in my mind, but a little sad feeling reminds me off when I see 'Ajisai'(hydrangea).
Kimonotte original Summer Han-eri with Ajisai design
we have more other color variations
Yukata with Ajisai design
Summer kimono with Ajisai
Well, there is a place where does not have rainy season in Japan. Do you know?
It's Hokkaido!! I visited Hokkaido 2 weeks ago with a friend, and it was a busy trip of 3 days. We stayed at Hoshino Resort Tower in Tomamu and enjoyed comfortable atmosphere in a mountain.
Then we moved to Furano, Asahikawa and Toya-ko lake. I enjoyed a lot at Asahiyama Zoo, and my favorite animals are penguins and white bears. When I saw penguins from underwater tunnel, they were like flying in the sky. I was surprised to see the penguins swim soooo fast. As for white bears, I could see them in the same eye-level and I could feel their powerful strides! The foods in Hokkaido such as fish, potatoes, vegetables and noodle are so nice. Kaisen-don (raw fish on rice bawl) and asparagus are my favorite. I recommend to visit Hokkaido in summer, because many flowers such as lavender bloom from June and foods are so delicious! I hope you have nice plans for summer. Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!
Kimono with penguin design.
Fukuro obi with white bear design
mrhayata | Flickr
This is Azusa writing.
High summer is here in Japan! I opened the window and let the fresh air in this morning, when I heard a buzz of a cicada, and the buzz made me feel hot.
There are bamboo shades called 'Sudare' hanging outside my windows. A bamboo shade is a blind made of thin strips of bamboo, which can keep out the intense sunlight while allowing nice and cool breezes through them. Besides, it can stop insects coming in the window. It's very comfortable in the climate of high temperature and high humidity, and I like the cool breezes in the summer.
In summer, there are a lot of summer festivals in Japan. Especially in Tondabayashi city in Osaka, a large fireworks festival is held. Over 20,000 fireworks launched in this fireworks festival. It can be seen from my house, so I would go outside and watch it in blue Yukata with an asagao(morning glory) design, holding a round shape fan called 'Uchiwa' in my hand.
loftwork | Flickr
These are airy and comfortable Yukata!
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