A few days ago, my friend Arlia (who I went to the Noh museum with) asked me if I wanted to go see a special exhibit with her on Saturday. Since her host mom had kindly provided tickets I said sure, and we made plans to meet up at the base of Kenrokuen at noon. The exhibit was a special exhibit of kaga yuzen dying (one of the 36 Ishikawa crafts) kimonos and obi (belts) at the Ishikawa Prefecture Museum of Art.
The kimono were absolutely exquisite. Arlia and I were both drooling over the detailed dying (which is all done by hand, by the way). While we were filling out a survey that the staff handed us, a well-dressed man in a suit came up and asked us some questions about our opinions about the kimono. Questions like, what, as foreigners, seems most "Japanese," did we like modern or traditional designs best, which was our favorite etcetc. Turns out he was actually one of the creators of one of the kimono, a yellow one with a detailed setting of a festival along the back bottom. We asked him about the creation process, and as he showed us pictures on his phone (first you sketch, then you hand-dye everything, then the fabric is cut and sewn into a kimono) he said his had taken him a month, while others can take upwards of a year! Imagine! No wonder kaga yuzen-dyed kimonos cost an arm and a leg...
Then we went to Kanazawa station to eat lunch, and found a table set up outside for Tanabata Festival, which is on Monday, 7/7. The story is (abridged) that Orihime was weaving a kimono in the sky when her father married her to a cowherd. She was so happy with marriage (he was a celestial cowherd) that she abandoned her kimono. Angry that she had become so lazy, the father separated the two with the milky way. They can only meet on one day--Tanabata. In the days before the festival, people write their wishes on a slip of paper and tie it to bamboo.
Mine says, "I want to be a diplomat".
Arlia hanging up her wish.
This guy wrote, "I want a girlfriend."
When all the wishes are hung together with other symbols of good fortune like flowers and lanterns it's a colorful cacophony.
Tomorrow and Monday PII is taking us on an overnight trip to an onsen (hot spring) so I won't be able to post until Monday evening, but I know we're stopping at many touristy places along the way so I'll have lots to share.
(Also happy belated 4th of July to you all...)
The kimono were absolutely exquisite. Arlia and I were both drooling over the detailed dying (which is all done by hand, by the way). While we were filling out a survey that the staff handed us, a well-dressed man in a suit came up and asked us some questions about our opinions about the kimono. Questions like, what, as foreigners, seems most "Japanese," did we like modern or traditional designs best, which was our favorite etcetc. Turns out he was actually one of the creators of one of the kimono, a yellow one with a detailed setting of a festival along the back bottom. We asked him about the creation process, and as he showed us pictures on his phone (first you sketch, then you hand-dye everything, then the fabric is cut and sewn into a kimono) he said his had taken him a month, while others can take upwards of a year! Imagine! No wonder kaga yuzen-dyed kimonos cost an arm and a leg...
Then we went to Kanazawa station to eat lunch, and found a table set up outside for Tanabata Festival, which is on Monday, 7/7. The story is (abridged) that Orihime was weaving a kimono in the sky when her father married her to a cowherd. She was so happy with marriage (he was a celestial cowherd) that she abandoned her kimono. Angry that she had become so lazy, the father separated the two with the milky way. They can only meet on one day--Tanabata. In the days before the festival, people write their wishes on a slip of paper and tie it to bamboo.
Mine says, "I want to be a diplomat".
Arlia hanging up her wish.
This guy wrote, "I want a girlfriend."
When all the wishes are hung together with other symbols of good fortune like flowers and lanterns it's a colorful cacophony.
Tomorrow and Monday PII is taking us on an overnight trip to an onsen (hot spring) so I won't be able to post until Monday evening, but I know we're stopping at many touristy places along the way so I'll have lots to share.
(Also happy belated 4th of July to you all...)
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