Not a big update today. As some of you know, one of my other passions is photography. Earlier today I went to the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre of Montreal‘s Japanese crafts show/festival, and I thought I would share some of the photos I took that I am especially fond of.
And this is a box of wagashi for Hina Matsuri that Kansai_gal sent me a few weeks back. I finally managed to find time to photograph them before I ate them! Cute, and delicious!
Hina-matsuri (雛祭り, doll’s day) was this past Thursday. In the past, I’ve made my own dolls for display but this year I just didn’t have the time to do much of anything, since I work all week now. However, I did want to do a little something, even if it’s technically too late.
I knew I wanted to use this ningyo obi, despite the type of doll not being the typical dolls used for this festival. One day I will find a piece with proper hina dolls on it and I will use that, but until that happens this is what I’ve got.
This kimono may have seemed like an odd choice, but if you look closely there’s bright red accents in the beautiful embroidery. They actually coordinate quite well, I think. Also I think the pink, pastels, and adorable bunny are all ideal for a holiday that celebrates girls.
It’s been a long time since I’ve used my beloved blue and red shibori obiage or my mint and reddish-orange obijime so I was thrilled to have an excuse to pull them out again. A pretty floral haneri in shades of pink with turquoise foliage was a nice finishing touch. As well as featuring dolls, this outfit feels like a great bridge from winter to spring, perfect for early March.
In Japan, May 5th is こどもの日, Kodomo no Hi, or Children’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate and appreciate children, to pray for their health and prosperity in the coming year. It was originally a day to celebrate boys and fathers, while Hina-matsuri was a day to celebrate girls, but in the late 40s, it shifted to a day to appreciate all children and their accomplishments!
Koi-shaped streamer kites, known as koinobori, are tradtional decorations for this holiday. There are typically two large koi depicting the parents, and then one smaller one for each child in the family. I found this obi with koinobori on it on eBay eons ago, and it remains one of my all-time favourite pieces. It’s a strange duck, softer silk than obi typically are, and full of awkward seams on the back side. I suspect it started life as either a kimono or some sort of decorative piece, but someone decided it would make a lovely obi and I’m so glad they did!
Arrows are also a fairly typical motif for the holiday, so I paired the obi up with this bold Taisho-era yabane komon, and I’ve always thought this adorable car obidome Kansai_gal got for me looks like a little toy car, so it felt like the perfect finishing touch for the outfit.
Today is going much smoother than yesterday did, so I thought I would attempt the soft, girly coordination I had in mind for Hina-matsuri. I chose this beautiful pink takara houmongi that my good friend (and Naomi’s charming husband!) Arian bought for me ages ago. It’s one of the softest, most demure kimono I own and it felt right for this outfit.
As much fun as I have been having lately with hime-style and non-traditional kitsuke, I was in the mood to make a very “normal” outfit this time, so I pulled out coordinating pastel accessories and this lovely but painfully soft gold fukuro obi. I attempted a tsunodashi musubi, but it’s so floppy it looks a little deflated, unfortunately. Overall though, I very much achieved the aesthetic I wanted!
Parasols are one of those things that look adorable with kimono and yukata, and are also very practical with western clothing, especially if you are as unlucky as I am to be as pale as bread soaked in milk, and ridiculously prone to heat stroke. In fact, I’ve been doing a lot of catalogue-style entries lately because it is just too hot for me to get dressed in kimono! They’re great for taking a stroll to the park or attending outdoor festivals. Some of them can even help keep you dry in a light sprinkle of rain (though I would not suggest subjecting them to anything more severe than a drizzle).
Red plastic parasol hanaguruma (flower carts)
This is definitely my favourite parasol, and I found it at a children’s book store, of all the odd places! It’s red plasticized fabric, so it’s quite durable and can put up with a fair bit of abuse, and I really like the pattern. I hate goshoguruma, the typical Heian-style carts that carried people, but I’m pretty fond of hanaguruma, the flower-carrying carts. It looks like fabric you’d find on a furisode or something. I also really love how bright and fun it is. It’s actually a child’s parasol so it’s a little smaller in diameter than the next two, but it’s more than sufficient to shade my head and shoulders.
Paper parasol with painted dragons
I picked this up at a matsuri years back, and while it was most likely made in China for tourist export, I’m still quite fond of it. Dragons, when cheaply mass-produced, can tend to look a bit dopey, but this little guy is surprisingly intelligent-looking.
Paper parasol with painted butterflies
This came from the same vendor as the previous one, and again, it’s nothing fancy but the pattern is cute and sweet, and it works well when I’m in the mood for something girly but subdued.
Bebe Taian
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