A hailstorm!?

It's too BAD weather today.
Spring is coming, BUT it heavy hails!!
It's so dark and blows hard.
I can't think it's the weather in spring.
I hope it'll be good weather suitable for spring.

winter season again!

It's cold like midwinter!
We call that "Kan No Modori"; back to winter season.
But I heard from my Sado teacher that Sakura full‐blown in Tokyo.

Maybe it will be coming Spring after the baceball tournament called "Haru no Senbatsu" over.
This tournament is second famous next to "Koushien".
Both tournaments are for high school students, and they are open at "Koushien".
"Koushien" is the Tigers's home ground at Nishinomiya in Hyogo.

Sado tips

Today, I had a Sado lesson.
My lesson were "Wakin" and "Gyou", it was just as I had expected.

"Wakin" is for when we serve for the Emperor of Japan.
When we do this tea celemony, we use old cloth called "Wakin".

"Gyo" is the secret tea celemony, and it's for when we use very old tea pot called "Meibutsu-Chaire".
The old small tea pot called "Meibutsu" is one of the antique collections from Han;old china of Nobuyoshi and Nobunaga and so on in the days of Rikyu.

Sado lesson!

I have Sado lesson, tomorrow. I have to prepare tomorrow's lessons.
Now is the end of "Ro"-season. "Ro" is a fireplace in the "Tatami" floor.
And my lesson is effectively in its final stages.
So my lesson will be hard work!!
I expect my set pieces for tomorrow will be "Wakin" and "Gyou".
It's so difficult for me. And it takes a lot of time.

I'll do my best, tomorrow!!

season words for April (1)

Season words are important for us who enjoy Sado.
Season words are used for greetings and "Mei"; the name shows season or a motto.
The biginners use season words in the meening of showing season.
At the beginning of April, most season words show the joy of spring or a joy of flowering of "Sakura"; cherry blossoms.

Season words for the beginning of April are as follows:
"Yoshinoyama"; the Mt.Yoshino is famous of cherry blossoms,
"Oboroduki"; misted moon is symbol of spring,
"Shungyou"; daybreak in spring,
"Shunpuu"; a spring wind,
"Shunkou"; a spring sunlight,
"Shunmin"; in spring one sleeps a sleep that knows no dawn
and so on.

Hay fever

It becomes warm quickly in this one week.
And a spring wind blow hard.
So, so much pollen blown off and make me hard with sneezing and allergic rhinitis.
In Japan, pallen of Japanese cedars blown off in this season.
Especialy in Nara, there are many Japanese cedars in south part of Nara, so we have a lot of pollen.
Those Japanese cedars are cultivate for building materials and high-class chopsticks.

After the funeral

We have two pots of granma's ashes. Big one and small one.
Usualy, we should leave both pots at home until the 49th day after granma's death.
But we put a big pot of ashes into a grave.
We need a small one because we have to recite a sutra for granma everyday until 49th day.

A funeral

We held a funeral for my granma.
First, three Buddhist priests recite a sutra..
Next, family, relatives and people who attend a funeral burned incenses.
And then, family, relatives and the people who closed my granma put into flowers to a coffin.
After the coffin was filled up by flowers, the coffin went to a crematorium.
Of course family and relatives went there with a coffin.
After we saw the granma's coffin into an incinerator, we went back to a funeral hall and we have a meal together.
After the meal we went back to crematorium to gather granma's ashes into a pot.

We went back to a funeral hall with granma's ashes inside a pot.
And we held the celemony of the sixth day after granma's death.

And all celemony in relation to funeral was over.

All-Night Watch

The vigil over my granma's body was held quietly, attended only by the small number of people who had been closest to her.
From old times, dead person's family and relatives have a party through a night near by dead person.
It is a long‐established custom in Japan.
But now, one of family who live with dead person keep a look our for incense sticks do not break off for all night.

"Higan"; the equinox

March 21st is the spring equinox.
Most Japanese visit grave and pray to a family Buddhist altar.

But we didn't do that because we had to prepare for granma's funeral.
And relatives and neighbors came to see her continuously from yesterday.
We have an all‐night watch, tomorrow.

mourn the death of my granma

Today, my granma died in noon.
She was in the hospital over 2 and half years from when she had an operation of a pacemaker.
But she was in bed for 5-7 years in our house by senile dementia.
So, she has been in bed without a toe to the floor for 7 years.

I couldn't meet in her last moments, because I had a job.
When I went to the hospital, she already has cleaned by nurses.

She came home at around 7 in the evening.
Neighbors came to see her, and joined their hands in prayer.

My father, mother, sister and me was so tired, because we arranged for funeral.

Have to practice!!

Today, I had a meeting of "Ukulele club". We gatherd for playing ukulele for practice, talking about Hawaii, and so on.
I am a begginer, so the menbers who have played for 5-7 years taught me.
I always enjoy the meetings.

I bought new ukulele when I visited Hawaii in last part of January in this year.
My new ukulele "Pineapple Sunday" has very beautiful sound and cute shape of pineapple.
Someday I want to get to be able to play Jake's songs, so I have to practice!!

Kousen Tea

"Kousen" tea is indispensable drink for Japanese tea celemony party "Ochaji".
At the party, the host serves Kousen tea to participants first.

The most popular Kousen tea is "Ume Kobu Cha" that is made of green tea powder, "Konbu" powder;a kind of sea weed, broken dryed Ume and broken dryed Siso.
When the host chooses Kosen tea, a sense of the season is requisite. For example, we choose salted Sakura flower in Sakura season.

Of course we always enjoy Kousen tea. We drink it at the teatime with some Japanese sweets as a welcome tea at a celebration.

Please enjoy "Kousen" tea with a sence of the season.

Teaching somebody

Today, I had a Hula lesson. It was ME teaching it! Wow!
Well, it was begginer class, but still I was so nervous.

I have taught begginer class of Sado and Ikebana.
They were very good experiences for me.
When I teach somebody I learn more than when I'm taught.

When I have lessons as a student, I don't understand all of the things that my teacher says although I try to absorb everything. Plus, I tend to leave what I didn't understand in lessons.
But when it comes to teaching, I can't leave what I don't understand. I have to understand all and explain it logically.
That's why teaching other people makes me study more than being taught.

If you're learning something I recommend to teach it to somebody.

It's a good way to learn things.

Spring Storm

It was rainning hard today. Yesterday, a weatherman said, "It will be raining hard with hailstones or a thunderstorm what is called Spring Storm." But it was only raining and not so cold because maybe "Omizutori" is over.
And spring storm is one of things which tell us coming of spring, too.
"Omizutori" is for only Nara, but spring storm is for all over the country.

The coming of spring in Nara

One of seansonal events in Nara "Omizutori" is famous event which tell the coming of spring.
After this event is over, it becomes warm in Nara.
"Omizutori" is held at "Nigatsudou" for about 2 weeks. It is one of training of Buddhist monks.
The highlight scene of "Omizutori" is big torches. Monks run around Nigatsudou with big torches every night during this event. It's soooooo beautiful and fantastic!!
If you get sprinkled with these torches, you can keep evils away through the year.
You can see details of this event on this website "http://www.kiis.or.jp/rekishi/nara/nara11-e.html".

We have popular Japanese sweets Manjuu related to "Omizutori" among the people who enjoy Sado.
This Manjuu has a shape of a Japanese flower Norikoboshi TSUBAKI.
There is a variety of this Manjuu. Each Japanese sweets shop has its own style and name; "Norikoboshi", "Nigatsudou Tsubaki" and so on.

It snowed in the past few days, but "Omizutori" is over so I hope it will become warm soon.

Happy Birthday to me!!

I'm starting this blog from today, it's my birthday!!
I know my English is not good, but I'll try.
I want to introduce about my favorite things; Sado-Japanese tea celemony, Ikebana-Japanese traditional flower arrangement, Hula-Hawaiian traditional dance, and so on.

My blog title "Ichigo-Ichie" is one of "ZENGO" words which are the most popular saying among people who enjoy Sado.
"Ichigo-Ichie" means a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If we miss one moment it's not going to come again.
So we should treasure our time.

I got some birthday presents from my friends.
They are sooooo cute!! I like angel stuff.
I wanna say "Thank you so much" to them.