The Japanese have a whole bank of traditional design images from which to draw, and an intense connection to the natural world. They show an innate ability to interpret the charm of plants and flowers in order to express their joys and pains. Their communion with nature manifests itself through an elaborate symbolism. The story unfolds as the eye scans the linked series of motifs, which reunite as a complete narrative.

The destined wearer of this silk haori would have chosen motifs expressing auspicious outcomes, and perhaps reflecting an important aspect of her personal life. This phenomenon of intentionality and meaning in kimono motifs make it possible to “read” or at least have a glimpse into, the owner’s life.

The Willow Bridge depicts a world of images suggestive of romance, with both male and female motifs in mutual embrace,  establishing a delightful love story. If you would like to know the full story, please contact me via this blog…

It is possible to contrast the enormous energy and strength of the exterior design with the quiet gentleness of the haori lining. This is a simple woven silk latticework, placed around shading green circles. It reminds us of the inner calm that can accompany a strong external appearance. Yin and Yang find their place in many ways in this extraordinary haori.

For more vintage haori, and to see Willow Bridge used as my May Banner, please visit my store on: www.etsy.com/shop/ikimono

Arigato gozaimasu

Uchiwa are flat, non-folding Japanese fans which have been a familiar part of daily life for all classes in Japan since ancient times. Many people think of the folding style fan as most common to Japan. These are much harder to make and thus also more expensive.

The “uchiwa” is an important Japanese handicraft, borrowed from China, with a long tradition. It is made by cutting a bamboo tube into narrow lengths which are then splayed out in the radial shape of a fan. Hand made washi paper in an unending array of designs is pasted over both sides of this bamboo frame.

During the Heian period (794-1185), fans displaying intricate designs were used as ceremonial items at the Imperial court and as accessories by the aristocracy. They later became a common prop for performing arts like Japanese classical dancing, Noh plays and farce, and for the tea ceremony. Uchiwa were widely used among ordinary people in the Edo period. They were a necessity especially in summer to cool off and to keep mosquitoes away, as well as an essential tool for stoking up a cooking fire.

The uchiwa business is tough nowadays. People use uchiwa only occasionally as lifestyles have drastically changed.

One uchiwa store in Kyoto has been run by the same family since the Edo period (1600-1868). According to Komaruya’s own legend, their business of making uchiwa began on order of the Imperial court, using the bamboo that grew luxuriantly at Fukakusa, Kyoto. In the middle of the 17th century, the founder of Komaruya, heeding the advice of Gensei-shonin, a Buddhist priest, designed the original uchiwa with its distinctive long and slightly top-heavy shape and called it the Fukakusa uchiwa.

The Fukakusa uchiwa fell into disuse for a long time, but the business hopes to revive by producing souvenir fans for tourists to take home. Komaruya has been laying in a stock of handmade uchiwa frames of bamboo from the town of Marugame in Shikoku.

But the main threat to this revival, as with the production of many traditional Japanese artefacts is that there is an acute lack of skilled craftsmen. People who can make uchiwa frames by hand are getting old and it is difficult to find young people willing to enter the trade. As a result, most uchiwa frames are machine-made in China. The craftsman, now 73 years old, who makes bamboo frames for Komaruya has no successor.

Faced with the drying up of her frame supply, Sumii decided to recruit young people who might be motivated in bamboo craftsmanship and send them to Marugame for training at her own cost, even though there is no guarantee they will take up the trade.

Kyoto’s old people still believe that the uchiwa is properly used, not to fan oneself, but to fan others. For them, the uchiwa is a small tool for expressing gratitude, respect and sincere appreciation for others. Komaruya spokeswoman, Keiko Sumii said, “It would be great if our Fukakusa uchiwa could be used to ease stress and make others feel happy”.

Find out more about uchiwa from:

http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/thismonth/uchiwa.html

The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai society and, by the Edo period, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.

Today, the Japanese people continue the tradition of hanami, gathering in great numbers wherever the flowering trees are found. Feasts are held under the sakura trees, and sometimes these parties go on until late at night. In more than half of Japan, the cherry blossoming period coincides with the beginning of the scholastic and fiscal years, and so welcoming parties are often opened with hanami. The Japanese people continue the tradition of hanami by taking part in the processional walks through the parks. This is a form of retreat for contemplating and renewing their spirits.

The teasing proverb dumplings rather than flowers (hana yori dango) hints at the real priorities for most cherry blossom viewers, meaning that people are more interested in the food and drinks that accompany a hanami party rather than actually viewing the flowers themselves

The most important factor in determining the blooming time of cherry trees is the geographical location, and the milder the climate, the earlier the blossoms open.

On Japan’s southern, subtropical islands of Okinawa, cherry blossoms open as early as January, while on the northern island of Hokkaido, they bloom as late as May. In most major cities in between, including Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, the cherry blossom season typically takes place around the end of March and beginning of April.

The blooming time differs from year to year depending on the weather. If the weather during the months and weeks preceding the cherry blossom season is mild, blossoms will open early. If it is cold, blossoms will open later. From year to year, the start of the blooming season can vary by as much as two weeks.

Every year, the Meteorological Agency and the media close follows the so called “cherry blossom front” as it slowly moves northward. Note that the front indicates the opening of the first blossoms (kaika) rather than the arrival of full bloom (mankai).

So when is Hanami predicted in 2010 in Tokyo and Kyoto?

The Japan Weather Association published its first forecasts for this year’s cherry blossom season. The blossoms are forecast to open several days ahead of their average year’s schedule in most areas of Japan. In Tokyo they are expected to start opening on March 24 and in Kyoto on March 27.

The Japanese show a natural ability to interpret the charm of plants and flowers in order to express their joys and pains. Their communion with nature manifests itself through an elaborate symbolism, and plants are associated with moving thoughts and the universal forms of life.

The design elements of this vintage silk epitomises the Japanese love of nature and features plants from all season, emphasizing the lifecycle. Chrysanthemum and Hagi, or bush clover, also appear in the “sliver of silk” chosen for the shop banner. These are associated with the Autumn, whilst May is the month for Iris to bloom. It is this flower that is highlighted in this month’s blog:

Shobu - iris flowers for health and strength

The iris is often shown in a realistic manner in Japanese art. There is deep reverence for this flower, which has great cultural significance for the Japanese as a reminder of one of the most celebrated romances in their literature.

In a famous passage in the 10th century Tales of Ise, the hero Ariwara no Narihira comes to a place in Mikawa province noted for its eightfold bridge and irises. A nobleman exiled from the court and sent to the provinces, he was challenged by his compatriots to write a haiku based on syllables which form one of the Japanese words for this flower: kakitsubata

Each of the lines was to begin with one of the sounds of the Japanese word for iris.  The poem that he wrote was to the love he had left at home:

I have a beloved wife,

Familiar as the skirt

of a well-worn robe,

And so this distant journeying

Fills my heart with grief.

Finally, more snippets on the role the iris plays, or had played, in Japan:

· The iris is ascribed with the power to ward off evil spirits and to prevent illness and epidemics.

· Japanese folk legends prescribed putting irises into pillows to ensure good health and imbibing drink made from irises to ward off sickness.

· Boys were encouraged to eat irises to make their spirits brave.

· The iris also symbolizes the martial strength a the samurai.  This derives from the sword shape of the leaves.

· An iris pattern was very popular in the textiles used for 19th-century kimono patterns.

The iris remains an important visual symbol and is seen everywhere in Japan, from ads, to furniture, to textiles.

Please take a look at some of the yukata cotton designs in the Ikimono store on Etsy:

www.etsy.com/shop/ikimono

www.etsy.com/shop/ikimono

This blog banner also features a rocky scene from the same bolt of silk. The surface glows with gold and silver, etching the curved, swirling lines of the waves, and the craggy, rough edges of the rocks.

An elegant Crane soars above foaming waves, towards towering rocks, a dramatic scene played out on a bolt of vintage silk, designed to grace an elegant Japanese lady. Never made up, this silk is now a treasured part of my personal collection.

The crane is a majestic bird which mates for life and is extremely loyal to its partner. The bird is strong, graceful and beautiful.

For the Japanese, the crane – Tsuru – is regarded as a national treasure, appearing in art, literature, and folklore. Symbol of good fortune and longevity because of its fabled life span of a thousand years, they also represents fidelity, as Japanese cranes are known to mate for life. Over time, the crane has also evolved as a favorite subject for origami.

Folded origami cranes came to symbolize a hope for peace after World War II, through Sadako Sasaki and her unforgettable story of perseverance. A victim of the bombing of Hiroshima, she was diagnosed with leukemia after being exposed to radiation. Sadako became determined to reach a goal of folding 1,000 cranes in hopes of being rewarded with health, happiness, and a world of eternal peace. Although she died before reaching her goal, the tradition of sending origami cranes to the Hiroshima memorial has endured as a symbol of the Japan’s ongoing wish for nuclear disarmament and world peace.

Folding and sending a thousand origami cranes – Senbazuru – is popular practice in Japan, especially where the hope is for recovery from illness or injury. They are also given as a wedding present, expressing the wish for a thousand years of happiness and prosperity for the couple. Many give Senbazuru to a newly born baby too.

IKIMONO’s latest treasury on Etsy features angels of all sorts.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=103870

May 2010 bring us all peace and love.

“The reason angels can fly is because they take themselves lightly.” G.K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy..

Long time no Blog. At last, a reason:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ikimono

My Etsy store needed a new look. I decided to re-do the banner, and will change it every month, using the beautiful folds of a different vintage silk bolt taken from my collection.

December is Yukiwa and Broken Plate.

Yukiwa-mon is a notched roundel motif that depicts rings of crystallized snow. Snow is believed to be the omen of a bountiful harvest. On this bolt, the pale, shaded colours are truly frosted, especially as they are woven rinzu style into the design.

Sophistication, and mystique, is added into this luscious silk by overlaying a dyed design, representing broken plates. The similarity to a Japanese snowflake is not lost on us, but the colours are darker and harsher.

Enter a Japanese Ghost Story: Okiku, an unfortunate servant maid. Her tale is one of the best known and was transformed into a Kabuki play and numerous novels.

Bancho Sarayashiki

In the kabuki play Bancho Sarayashiki, Okiku is a maid at the mansion of the Japanese samurai Tessan Aoyama, who tries to seduce the young girl. She rejects his advances and Aoyama resorts to using a trick. He hides one of ten valuable Dutch plates and tells  Okiku that he will accuse her in public of stealing the plate unless she agrees to become his mistress. Fearful of such denounciation and finding herself in a desperate position,  Okiku throws herself into a well and drowns.

Okiku’s ghost comes out every night, counting from one to nine and then breaks out into a terrible howling and sobbing. Finally Aoyama goes insane by the daily apparitions at night.

There are other versions of the Ghost Story of Okiku, including the famous Okiku in Distress, by Yoshitaki Utagawa, a nineteenth century Japanese writer. What they all have in common is the description of her ghost coming out of the well and counting from one to nine and then breaking out into a heart-rendering sobbing.

In another version, Okiku really breaks a plate and is killed by her master and her corpse is thrown into the well. Other versions attribute the plate breaking incident to the wife of Aoyama. To hide her guilt, she throws the broken plate into the well and accuses Okiku of having it stolen. In this version she is also killed by her master for punishment and thrown into the well.

There is also an alternate version for the end of the story. To stop the nightly sobbing, a friend of the family of Aoyama is hired. He is hiding at the well during the night and after Okiku had counted from one to nine, he is stepping forward shouting loudly “ten”. From then on the ghost of Okiku was never seen again.

Even Himeji Castle claims a tourist attraction link – Okiku’s well. In the Himeji version, Okiku was a servant of Aoyama, a retainer who planned a plot against his lord. Okiku overheard the plot and reported it to her lover, a loyal warrior. The plot was averted.

When Aoyama found out that Okiku was responsible, he decided to seek revenge. He accused her of having stolen one of ten valuable dishes. She was tortured to death and thrown into the well.

But there are other contenders for the site of Okiku’s well. The Canadian embassy in Tokyo – claims it is located on its land, bought from the Aoyama family.

I have not been able to find further information about the source of the broken plate motif on kimono. I would be delighted to hear from anyone who can add more information.

Until January, the next vintage silk, and another story from Japan.

メリークリスマス

Happy Holidays

IKIMONO

Why am I doing this? What have I begun? Rewind a little, before the motives muddle and meddle too much.

Retired English women living in France are not uncommon, but I have become part of a very rare breed – a Kimono Interpreter.

Over the past ten years, my personal collection of kimono and Japanese artifacts has grown, and with it, my understanding and appreciation of the skills of the designer and artisan. Having just returned from Japan, my head is still buzzing with new experiences, yet thrilled with the familiarity of so many aspects of this ancient culture, thanks to kimono.

If the trip felt, in part, like coming home. This was largely due to the fact that, although speaking no more Japanese than Do you speak English?, I can use the language of auspicious symbols.

Collecting kimono involves learning as I go, with the result that I now specialise in revealing the meanings beneath the imagery found on Japanese kimono. There is a traditional structure to the rules that govern how they are worn. The type of kimono a woman chooses varies according to the formality of the occasion, her age and the season.

This latter category provides an eclectic variety of images and colours, allowing every kimono wearer more than adequate means of expressing her personality. But beyond this, the images she (or he) decides upon speak volumes, to those in the know, about what she wishes for herself. Intentional fashion, as I have come to call this particular brand of motivational behaviour, unique to Japan.

As if part of a shared grammar, the same auspicious motifs are found on kimono, lacquer ware, fukusa (gift presentation cloths), family crests, weaponry, and scrolls. Far more in touch with the natural world, Japanese cultural objects often feature birds, animals, plants and flowers.

Often, the meaning of a motif is deeper than first appearances, or can vary according to its form. Additional layers of subtlety occur when the Japanese love of understated elegance – iki – is added to the kimono equation (this is where I come near to promoting Ikimono, for example, on Etsy).

A pine, for example, is sturdy enough to survive the winter, and is associated with human strength. The tree, rounded and stylized in comparison to a Western depiction, is often included on a young boy’s kimono, to show the parents’ desire for this quality in their offspring. But pine needles, some of the earliest Japanese kimono designers must have romantically concluded, being fused at their apex, have come to represent the married couple.

This glimpse of Japan through the kimono has just tumbled out on to the page. My passion is revealed on page one. Have I kept any surprises up my kimono sleeve?

You will just have to check the blog from time to time, for the next lesson in kimono. This one with pictures, to lighten the load (and mood!)…

Sayonara…