The World of the Woodblock Printer

 (Mr David Stones: from his website)

I made a trip with a group of my friends to the city of Okazaki in Aichi Prefecture by train and  then minibus to visit Mr. David Stones, an English woodblock printer, who first came to Japan 40 years ago and now lives in a very nice Japanese farm house with his Japanese wife on the outskirts of Okazaki.

Their house once had been abandoned. It has been renovated but still retains an abundant atmosphere of Japanese traditional style. 

Mr. Stones'swood-print works are very fine and delicate picturing mostly Japanese local views. 

He introduced us to the wonderful Japanese art of wood block prints and his wife invited us to a tranquil  moment with " Cha no Yu",  a Japanese tea ceremony  in her authentic tea house. Oh I loved the fascinating harp sound from the water basin near the entrance.

He pointed out the serious situation that Japanese people are losing craftsmanship to hand down to the next generation. In fact he has a problem in getting the  blocks of wood used for carving.
Wood block printers use thick woodblocks, called "han-gi" 版木 in Japanese,  of several kinds, depending on the purposes and  printing results. 

The Japanese art of wood prints, like ukiyo-e,  is unique in the way that artists carve many woodblocks for applying different pigments until they complete just one piece of art. 

  

 

 (image from Google)

Two sides of a woodblock should be framed tightly with supporting wood to prevent it from warping or shrinking over the years.  Otherwise  the artist can't  get  the exact result by way of  overlapping different woodblock onto just one sheet of Japanese paper called "washi".  If just one block should ever warp or shrink, it will mean the resulting artwork is imperfect. The quality of woodblocks is so important for a woodblock printer. 

It is so disappointing to know we are losing this craftsmanship. It seems that this is true of many other traditional art and crafts in Japan.  We should take this reality very seriously and figure out how to encourage young generations to keep our traditions alive.

Being blessed with the murmuring of the streams, birds singing and surrounding green hills, we had definitely a great time which we failed to enjoy in the every day hustle and bustle in the city.

Please go to his website to know more about his work from here

Cupnoodles Museum

 

Over this weekend while we were visiting Yokohama, 

I went to Cupnoodles Museum and made my only one in the world package. 

It was really fun. 

You design a cup, select your favorite soup and toppings. 

At the end , you put it into an air cushioned bag to make a special souvenir.

Everything was so cool there.

More than anything else,  I learned about ANDO Momofuku(1910-2007), 

who invented Chiken Ramen , the world's first instant ramen 

and later made  Cup Noodles which are now popular in many countries of the world.

His enthusiasm for creativity was really amazing and inspiring to me.

I liked his philosophy for a creative thinking.

I'd like to note his six key ideas about his creative process.

These are true not only to any inventors 

but also true to any one who is anxious to make his/her dream come true.

Six key ideas

1)Discover something completely new

2)Find hints in all sorts of places      

3)Nurturing an idea                       

4)Look at things from every angle    

5)Don't just go with the status quo  

6)Never give up                           

What shall I do?

This year, I enjoyed making summer tangerine peels more than I had expected. I wonder how many summer tangerines I used so far to make sugared peels.

Last year, at this time of the season, I spent more time visiting my elderly parents and my in-laws and I spent more time with them. I had hardly any time for myself. Eventually a lot of the fruit in our garden fell on the ground and spoiled. I feel guilty. I didn't want it to happen again this year. So I made a little bit of extra effort to pick the fruit when they were at their best.

I cooked many and decided to package them into little bags in a cute way. Aren't they nice?
Just looking at these home made sugared peels in cute bags made me so happy. How can I possibly spoil this sight? Now it seems to me that the idea of opening one of the bags is insane. 

Alas, I am at a loss. To eat or not to eat: that's another question. 

So what happened next ?

So,  as I described in my previous post,  after struggling with picking tangerines in the trees,  there I had the most delightful part of making use of them. Cooking!

Summer tangerine peels from our garden!

I made them twice.  And I learned that I could never have exactly the same result each time.
I followed the same recipe and I believed I did just the same as last time.

I liked the first peels better than the second ones.  They were softer. What brought this result?
That's what the cooking is fun all about.

 

My husband usually doesn't have anything sweets but surprisingly enough he likes its unique bitterness. He says it goes great with a glass of Scotch.
Very good for him.

Since I have still plenty of tangerines,  I'll try out for the third and maybe the fourth and until I feel I enjoy pretty much the seasonal blessing.

Blessings of Nature

Every year the tangerine trees in our garden grow many fruits and it's my job to pick them up.

There are plenty to take and plenty to share with my neighbors as well.

There are still lots in the trees.

I know there are plenty, but once I start picking them, it is so fun that I can hardly stop to rest.

I feel I can pick them all to the very last one.  

Not that I am greedy!

It's because I feel grateful for the blessings of nature.

But I always leave some for little birds which come over to enjoy the meal.

 
With my additional effort, these fruits will make good juice, jelly and marmalade. Hopefully soon.


It is my annual event.
See also my previous post here.

Eventually back to the mundane

After the concert, the audience all left for home.

The stage was quickly cleared.

Even though the lights in the hall were dim, 

the excitement of the people lingered.

a good reason for wearing a mask

How do I look?  Do I frighten you? Probably you think it's weird to see a person wearing a surgical mask out in public. One day recently on my way home, it got so windy that I took out a mask from my bag. With this mask on, I kept my throat and nose warm from the chilly air.

You will see many Japanese wearing masks especially at this time, the flu-season. It is not an unusual sight. We put it on as if we were wearing a pair of glasses. Of course, some people don't care to wear masks, either.

There are some reasons people wear surgical masks. For one thing they might feel a little sick. For another, they are healthy. And both reasons make sense.

For sick people, those who are getting a cold or flu, a mask is worn in consideration for others so that coughing and sneezing won't make their neighbors uncomfortable in a crowded place such as in a subway, a bus, an office or a class room. That way they decrease the chances of passing on
germs to others.

Nowadays, a great number of Japanese people suffer from pollen allergy at this time of year. They have running noses. They absolutely need a mask for covering up the mess.

And there is another group of people who are not sick. They make a decision to wear a mask since they believe it protects them from germs or pollen reaching the throat and lungs. Some research has shown that this really works in a dense and crowded space.

Considering these facts, I think Japanese people simply wear masks as a part of our daily lives.
A surgical mask is not a weird object. Some masks we can find at a drug store are more colorful and cute with little patterns. Kids and young girls love them. Men prefer just plain ones.

So while you are here, you can give it a try. Just enjoy putting one of these things on. No one will stare at you because they think you look weird.
They will look at you only because you look good with your cute mask on.
This is going to be your very special experience in Japan :)

(all the pictures but one most above are from google )