Japan earthquake

A Tohoku Tale for Girl’s Day

In my recent post about jubako, I mentioned that there was quite a story to tell about the soft cloth dolls displayed next to the porcelain in the photo above. As the second anniversary of the Great Japan Earthquake approaches and this Sunday, March 3 is Hinamatsuri, Doll’s Festival or Girl’s Day, I think now is the perfect moment to tell it.

Hinamatsuri is a festival that celebrates the healthy and happy growth of girls. Families with daughters everywhere set up very large traditional displays, with the hina-ningyo (dolls) placed along a red felt covered tiered stand with the Emperor and Empress at the top and the other dolls placed progressively lower based on their hierarchy. The dolls wear costumes of the Imperial Court during the Heian period (794-1192). Realistic furniture, lanterns and toy food complete the display and golden byobu (screens) provide a backdrop just like the real Imperial throne of the ancient court.

Charming miniature two doll displays are also very common as not everyone has room for a full display. The small peach blossoms are always included as it can also be referred to as Momo no Sekku, or Peach Festival, based on its seasonal calendar date.

These huge displays are very expensive to purchase and I am always amazed when I see families buying them new as I come across them at shrine sales all the time. I have to keep myself from buying them as they are so adorable. A little tip – they are great candidates for Western style repurposing as they make really unusual doll house furniture – great gifts for friends back home.

Last year around this time – actually a bit later in March – my daughters and I, along with some friends, traveled up to Tohoku in Northern Japan to volunteer with a great grassroots organization called It’s Not Just Mud. Headquartered in a few partially destroyed houses, with little electricity and no heat, it was quite an experience for us as we had never suffered such a level of discomfort before. Just realizing that people had been living like this for over a year was an incredible eye opener.

INJM makes it very easy to come and volunteer and they run a number of service projects that range from heavy labor (rebuilding playgrounds) to lighter but no less important social work. We were lucky to be involved in the launching of their ‘Tsuna Cafe,’ in which informal tea parties were organized in the communal space of the “temporary” housing complexes (which look more semi-permanent by the day). The parties are a chance for residents to communicate with each other and meet volunteers who bring cheer and friendship. One of the post-tragedies of the earthquake and tsunami is that village and neighborhood links were lost as residents were assigned to housing units on an ad-hoc basis. No attempts were made to keep communities together and the majority of those unable to rebuild or move elsewhere are quite elderly.

As this was one of the first times the Tsuna Cafe was being held, the kids went around to all the units and rang door bells and distributed flyers announcing the party. My younger daughter, who was 8 at the time, rang one bell, but as no one was home, she began to walk away. A woman opened the window and beckoned for her to come over. She handed her the flyer and the woman gave her a bag of small bean paste filled donuts and told her that she had very beautiful eyebrows – which happens to be true. She thought no more about it.

We assembled for the tea party, putting out snacks and getting ready to use our best Japanese. My elder daughter had made many friendship bracelets in advance, expecting the children to want them. Ironically, many of the older women were clamoring for them!

After a while, an elderly woman came in carrying a paper bag and approached my younger daughter. It was the same woman who had complimented her eyebrows! She opened the bag and took out what appeared to be folded cloth. Her Japanese was so colloquial that we couldn’t begin to understand her so one of the very fluent volunteers came to help translate.

Basically, she told us how after the war, when everything was destroyed and she had nothing, an American soldier gave her an American doll and that changed everything in her life because she had something to play with and love. She never forgot this moment of kindness and sewed these small fabric Hinamatsuri dolls many, many years ago, with a plan in mind to give the Japanese dolls in turn to an American child. She had been waiting and waiting for the right child to come along. As she presented them to my daughter – we were all crying by now – my sweet little one said “Mommy, it’s a miracle!”

Somehow, in all the excitement and bustle we never got her name. But my daughter will have those dolls and that memory forever.

We are hoping to go up again this spring and perhaps we can find the doll lady. Please remember that the work here in Northern Japan is nowhere near done, even though it has faded from the news. And for a small organization like It’s Just Not Mud, every donation helps. For more information on volunteering, please click here. For more information on making a donation, please click here.

Feb 28, 2013 By tokyojinja in Earthquake, Expat Life, History, Textiles 16 Comments Tags: dolls, Girl's Day, Hinamatsuri, It's Not Just Mud, Japan earthquake, Japanese Festival, volunteer work

Back in Business…The Higuchis Unveil Their Newly Rebuilt Studio

While Dalia was off visiting the Mashiko Pottery Festival last week and checking on post-earthquake progress there, I was busy visiting Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi, two of the world’s foremost Pâte de Verre glass artists up at their newly rebuilt studio at the northern end of Nikko National Park. As you might recall from a previous post, much of the Higuchis’ studio and about 40% of their artwork had been destroyed in the Great East Japan Earthquake. The weekend of November 5-6 was their joyous open house – a celebration of their rebuilding and faith in going forward – and we were lucky enough to be invited. Ironically, they had set up their entire exhibit by Thursday afternoon the 3rd, only for there to be a fairly strong quake that evening, which many of my local readers will remember. For safety, they took everything back down and only put it in place just before the weekend open house.

Simple linked buildings flooded with light house their bedroom, living quarters and studio, all surrounding their gorgeous garden which is the main source of inspiration for their work as well as much of their actual food. Upon arrival we were greeted by giant cabbage leaves spread about the grass. They were so life-like, we weren’t sure if they were glass or not!

Everything in the studio was back to being ship-shape and orderly. The rows and bins of glass powders and frits were a modern installation all their own. In the spirit of recycling, all the broken glass works are being ground down and re-used.

We got to see their process from sketch…

…to detail demonstration…

…to finished installation.

Their renderings of the everyday vegetables and flowers around them are so life-like as to almost be surreal. The asparagus looked so delicious that I was ready to pick it up and eat it.

The bearded irises were amazing.

Color and detail, here on a cyclamen panel…

…and here on a trumpet vine.

The little boxes and vessels made me swoon – I wanted this little sakura box…

…or the wisteria.

Some boxes had secret surprises inside.

Can you see the snail and the water droplet on the hydrangea leaf?

I don’t often include pictures of my kids on the blog, but here she provides a sense of scale. Keep in mind she just turned 8. Largest glass cabbage known to man – perhaps the original was the largest ever grown too.

Speaking of the girls, the younger ones had a ball catching praying mantids in the garden. They strongly suggested that Shin-ichi remake his praying mantis sculpture which had been broken in the earthquake.

And the pièce de résistance, which I cannot resist showing is this…

…their bathroom counter, covered in glass roses, and even including clear glass water drops and a few small insects.

Warm thanks to the Higuchis for hosting us and to Debra for introducing us!!

The previous week, Keiko Iishi, a former assistant to the Higuchis during a Corning Museum of Glass education program and a glass blowing artist in her own right, held a charming solo exhibit in a small Ginza gallery. She had been so disheartened by the loss of family and friends in the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that she had planned to cancel this long-awaited show. With strong encouragement from her supporters, she decided to go forward and it was a treat of color and pattern.

Having just made butterbeer with my elder daughter and her friends, the piece in the center rear, entitled “Honeydukes,” caught my eye. Keiko, a huge Harry Potter fan, said I was one of the only ones to get the reference.

Congratulations to Keiko on a very successful exhibition!

The net result of viewing all this modern glass art? I think we might need to sign up for classes at Hot Sand on the Asbury Park boardwalk this summer.

Nov 17, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight, Earthquake, Gardens, Glass, Kids 4 Comments Tags: glass, glass blowing, Japan earthquake, Japanese art, Keiko iishi, Kimiake Higuchi, Pate de Verre, Shin-Ichi Higuchi

Guest Post…Visiting the Mashiko Pottery Festival

For my first ever guest post, Dalia Gold reports on a shopping excursion to the famous Japanese pottery town of Mashiko. The destruction of the kilns after the Great East Japan Earthquake was featured earlier on the blog here and updates on the situation here.

The forecast called for and delivered clear, sunny skies for my first trip to the legendary Mashiko pottery festival. I’d been waiting almost a year for the day to arrive, having heard stories about rows upon rows of pottery stands.

Originating in 1966, the fair is now held twice a year – in the fall and spring – and draws approximately 150,000 people and 400,000 people, respectively. Last spring, the Great East Earthquake destroyed the ancient kilns used for generations to bake the clay works. Donations and support came from around the world to help rebuild the kilns and November 4, 2011 marked the second pottery fair after the devastation. More than 500 artisans displayed their work, including many from Mashiko and areas beyond, as well.

Much more information about the history of Mashiko pottery can be found at: www.mta.mashiko.tochigi.jp

I expected to be overwhelmed and had brought a small, wheelie suitcase, as I’d been advised, to store my purchases as I strolled. I had no particular agenda nor strategy for the expedition. I only knew that I didn’t want to leave thinking, “Why didn’t I buy that when I had the chance?”

The vendors at the beginning of the fair had mostly functional, primitive pieces. I bought these small bowls, finished in Nuka White (rice husk ash) glaze and paired them with these funky, unfinished green chargers.

As I moved deeper into the stalls, I found myself drawn to pieces featuring spouts, irregular shapes and almost anything white.

I think these oval pieces may be intended for ikebana, but I bought one to use as an everyday fruit plate.

Loved the simplicity of, and so purchased, both of these, which look great with the fruit bowl.

Though I didn’t buy one, I love the utilitarian grater featured in these spouted works.

As with so many things I’ve seen in Japan, the elegant simplicity of some displays rivaled the artistry of some of the goods being sold.

Other collections for sale besides pottery included glass, incense and shoes.

Given the huge piles of rubble within, I think these warehouses may be the sites of some of the kilns which were destroyed, although they had certainly been cleaned up from last spring,

After exhausting myself among the stalls, I finally arrived at the main street, where many finer pieces of art were for sale. The glaze on this vase looks as if there are layers of mosaic tiles beneath the smooth surface. The photo doesn’t do justice to the gorgeous tones of blue, grey and green held within.

My wheelie bag was full, and I had a couple of shopping bags draped over my arms as I returned to the parking lot before heading home. I’d been true to aim – not to leave any beloveds behind – and yet, I already knew I would need to return next year.

Nov 12, 2011 By tokyojinja in Earthquake, Guest Posts, Porcelain and Pottery 2 Comments Tags: Japan earthquake, Japanese pottery, Mashiko, pottery

When the Going Gets Tough, the Weak Get Going…to Singapore and Thailand

So I guess the truth is, I am not tough. Along with much of the rest of the expat community, I am leaving (fleeing?), ostensibly just early spring break, as school is now closed this week as power and train service is unclear. I shrug and tell myself next week was spring break anyway, but still I feel guilty to be going. There has been so much panic mongering (I don’t think I will ever be able to trust CNN again after watching their coverage), and I don’t want to join that train, but nonetheless, I can’t seem to keep myself off it. Unfortunately, my husband is staying behind to work. The constantly difficult piece of my expat life is being so often separated from him, but as soon as I find myself getting lachrymose, I just think of the suffering being endured by so many here in Japan and I get my perspective back. We are so lucky to be headed out to vacation!

I’ll be blogging on the road (the Mac seems to have come back to life after drying out), bringing you art and antiques from Singapore and Thailand. I need something to get my mind off the situation at home! I have also been featured on an Ocean Grove blog called Blogfinger. The writer of the blog, Paul Goldfinger contacted me for more information about our experience here in Japan and wrote an article about us. Check it out here if you are interested.

I just wanted to remind everyone of options for donations towards relief and rebuilding. Here’s a great link with information on multiple agencies working to help.

Thank you all again for your wishes, comments and prayers on our behalf. And to make you smile, here is a photo of the Japanese Self Defense Force rescuing a 4 month old baby!

Mar 15, 2011 By tokyojinja in Earthquake, Expat Life, Textiles 13 Comments Tags: antiques, earthquake, Japan, Japan earthquake

Shattered Glass…A Small Tribute to the Work of Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi

“Because of the great earthquake, his house, studio, and storage house were devastated:

the pillars of the house were snapped, all window panes were smashed.

on the floor in the studio, all colors of frits were scattered.

the heavy kilns moved unbelievably away.

To my sorrow, it seemed like all of their glass works in the storage house were damaged.”

-Keiko, friend of Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi

This is just one small story of many in the aftermath of the great Japan earthquake of March 11, 2011. Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi are masters of the art glass technique known as Pâte de Verre, in which glass powder is packed into a mold and then fired in the kiln. Glass Art Magazine has said “many see Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi as the King and Queen of Pâte de Verre. Their work in this medium possesses luster, translucency and shine that seems unfathomable.” Both artists are fine after the quake, but their studio, home and much of their work has been destroyed.

The Higuchis are both inspired by items from nature. Kimiake often works with flowers or vegetables she grows herself in her extraordinary gardens and creates works of such startling clarity and color one can almost believe they are real. “I pick each bloom or leaf in the moment of its prime, and in my hands the plants become glass.”

Shin-ichi uses insects as a common theme in his work to express his concern for the environment and the loss of so many small creatures. “In our civilization, human ego is destroying so much of nature,” he explains, “Some of the most victimized are the smallest creatures. My pieces convey a warning about the insects and also my feelings about their loss.” I love how modern and yet quintessentially Japanese the honeycomb pattern is on his mosaic Bees Casket in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass, where they had planned to do their annual workshop this summer. Unfortunately, it looks as if this will have to be cancelled.

Photo credits: 1. via GlassFacts.info, 2 & 3. via Corning Museum of Glass

Mar 15, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight, Earthquake, Glass 5 Comments Tags: earthquake, glass, Japan, Japan earthquake, Kimiake Higuchi, Pate de Verre, Shin-Ichi Higuchi

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