Ikebana makes me happy

Last night I took another lesson of Ikebana. It was another wonderful choice of flowers and Eiko had, as always, arranged them beautifully.

Eiko's expert arrangement

We used eucalyptus branches and snapdragons...

...and gorgeous hot pink roses

The longest eucalyptus branch on the left is placed to sprout off to the side and the other, at 70% of its partner, is placed to lean towards your right shoulder. The snapdragons complement the design in a balanced triangle, as do the roses.

Can you see the triangular balance?

With a few tweaks, this is the final product

The photo makes the arrangement look a bit gangly - and with the busy background, it's hard to see the design. After our lesson, we have to dismantle it and rearrange them again at home. I think I've done alright to reproduce it but unfortunately one of the roses is already droopy because I think I damaged the stem trying to stick it in the spike too many times! I think I like the round vase better.

Ikebana's next week too. Until then,
Monica x

Autumn in Kyoto (part one)

Last Sunday, I travelled to Kyoto to see the beautiful autumn leaves in their colour transition. Just like sakura in Spring, the leaves are a truly beautiful sight where ever you look.

The leaves need warm, sunny days and chilly nights to start the colour change process.

This was overlooking the gardens at Tofuku-ji in Kyoto


Brilliant red Japanese maples


I'm fascinated with the colours - stunning!


Red amongst the greenery


Red against the sky


In the raked garden grounds


The shaded trees are still yet to change

I found some autumn sakura!


I tried dorayaki - Doraemon's fave food

Then we journeyed to Fushimi Inari (fox) Shrine, which is the shrine for success in business. It's characterised by 10,000 red torii gates that form a pathway around the hill behind the shrine.

We didn't walk the whole way

The entrance


In the tunnel of torii


From the outside


Torii galore


Wishes of hope, luck and happiness written
on wooden fox shapes


Children dressed for the 7-5-3 festival


A ceremony in the shrine grounds

There are just too many photos of Autumn to share in one post, so I'll upload the rest of this day next time.

Until then,
Monica

Aboshi Lantern Festival

On October 21st, I ventured to Aboshi, about 20 minutes from Himeji, to see this intriguing-sounding festival called the Lantern Festival. A festival of lanterns - what could that possibly entail?

It started with the parade of yatai...


...and flesh


The yatai lit up in the dark

Then we made our way to the shrine's entrance
to see the action.

It was hard to see close up what was happening - you can see from the photo above how far back we stood, but it seemed like 60 or so men carrying bamboo poles with lanterns attached to the top, jostling, circling and chanting. Watch the clip.

The round begins (15 secs)

Then, obviously on someone's say-so, the smashing began - lanterns were flying through the air and were being completely shredded. Then the whistle blew to stop the violent hammering of the lanterns and a new round began. Watch the clip.

Lantern flogging (28 secs)

Some of the lanterns were so painstakingly designed and painted, only to be hammered in seconds. The lanterns kept coming and the men kept smashing them. It lasted for hours. Watch for the man lantern with the dangly detail in the clip below. Brutal!

Someone spent a lot of time painting this one

Smash those lanterns!

Ready, setty, destroy! (46 secs)

In the meantime, we wandered around the food stalls (see earlier post - Festival Foods) and got to look at a yatai on display. It's an impressive structure.

Me, Taube and Taube's visitor
standing by the yatai

Huh, so that's what the festival is all about!

Until next post,
Monica

Wedding Wow Friday

Another week ends and again, another display of dresses. Actually it's been raining this week and the shop was closed for several days, so I've only one dress to share - but it doesn't disappoint.

Back to traditional white...


...with frills, of course

I thought I'd also show you another window display a few shops up from the bridal salon. These are kimonos called furisode because they have sleeves that extend to the length of the dress. They are only worn by young, unmarried women, usually on their coming-of-age day in mid January.

I think these furisode are for rental for $2000

I'll definitely share the gorgeous kimonos worn at this year's local coming-of-age ceremony in the coming posts.

Until then,
Monica

More Festival Food

Autumn is the season for harvest festivals, so I've been to quite a few over the past month. And festivals always attract numerous stalls offering all kinds of foody delights. Here's some more from the Lantern Festival.

BBQ corn and franks on a stick


Grilled squid on a stick


Savory pancakes in the making


The chocolate fountain


Choco bananas


Assorted skewers...


This one's skewered octopus


Grilled noodles


Octopus tendons in batter

Usually, there's aisles and aisles of food stalls to wander through so you can always find something to try. Personally I'm not a fan of the seafood offerings, but they're always interesting to look at.

Trawling the food stalls

Okay, so more about this spectacular Lantern Festival in my next post.

Until then,
Monica

Study up

Today is exactly one month until the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

I've been learning Level 3 grammar, vocab and kanji all year, but I chickened out at application time and opted to take the Level 4 test this year - and have vowed to take the Level 3 next year.

Study, study, study

So now I'm practising with previous year's tests and assorted quizzes from textbooks and the internet. Luckily I have a bit of time at work to study (!), so I should be more than ready come December 6th.

Better get studying,
Monica

Wedding Wow Friday

The wedding dress display has certainly lived up to its wow! status this week.

Patchwork chic again - frills are so Japan!


If you look closely, this dress is the one
modelled in the poster


The detail is OTT, but nonetheless stunning!

For traditionalists!


The art is in the detail

Until next Wedding Wow,
Monica