So, I have been lucky enough to wear a kimono three times since Christmas. Our dear friend, Shiroko Aoyagi has dressed me (and others) in her beautiful kimonos and treated us to Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), koto playing, tea ceremony and Kabuki. She just loves sharing her culture and making sure we are as UNcomfortable as we can be. As she cinches us up in those gorgeous things, she scolds (in her best English--which is darling), "No bress, no bress!" After you see the photos, you may think she said what I thought she said as we all seemed to lose our curves, but the truth of the matter is that after watching Kabuki for four straight hours and finally being released from the obi allowing us to breathe, she really meant, "no breath!" Here is our wonderful Shiroko! The smile never leaves her face and it is a special pleasure for her to make us her life sized Barbies. The beauty in pink is Rosalie Ringwood, my wonderful neighbor.
Shiroko not only planned a day of culture at her home, but she fed us as well. There was so much food and so little stomach room or lung room, but we did our best to enjoy it. She first brought out the lacquer ware lunch plates with so many delicious treats, then came the tempura. She told us there is a saying in Japan--One never starts cooking tempura until they see the whites of their guests eyes.
She obliged three of her friends to come and help with the fun/torture by teaching us to play the koto, a Japanese stringed instrument. One of the dear souls was Kinoshita san whom I remember when I was a missionary here. The other two ladies either showed us the tea ceremony (we drank seaweed tea, I wouldn't recommend it) or helped us learn ikebana. Carey Aalders was gorgeous in pink and played beautifully! The dear sister who taught us could not have been more than 80 pounds and wears kimonos ALL THE TIME! She says she cannot find clothes small enough for her and is too old to wear what might fit her as well as middle school girls.
Below are the four of us near the tea ceremony tools. We could only sezu (sit like we are) for the length of time it took to grab a photo. The beautiful woman in navy is Carol Chandler, an indispensable soul in the office, my husband's administrative assistant. The Aoyagis have a traditional Japanese home, mostly with tatami (rice) mats on the floor and shoji doors.
Lastly, we learned Japanese flower arranging.
This is Emi (below), Elder Aoyagi's administrative assistant and about the dearest person there is. We love her. Her English is perfect and she plays the piano and makes everyone happy with her smile.
We loved spending the day with the Aoyagis. A week later, Shiroko had planned to take Rosalie and I to Kabuki (traditional Japanese theater) and insisted we wear kimonos again. This time we rode the trains in them and there were plenty of smiles. It felt like they were really thrilled to see two Americans in traditional Japanese wear and we heard more than once, "O niai desu ne!" Meaning--it really suits you.
The theater is in Ginza and was a remarkable building. This is what it looks like from the outside, and...
this is the stage. Wow! This was painted silk and there was not one, but four scenes.
We were not allowed to take photos during the play, so I added the bottom two from Bing images.
I can't begin to describe how beautiful it was, elaborate scenes, one with snow falling. All men actors, and has its origins in the 1600s. It was funny, it was action packed. This is the only photo we took during intermission.
Our footwear for the day, painfully too small, but oh so pretty. We were expected to turn our toes in the whole time.
To end this entry, a not-so-Japanesey wedding. This dear girl is another admin assistant in the office, Yayoi (Tonami) Iwanami. She was married last week in the Tokyo Temple. We loved going to her reception. Yayoi is a treasured friend and we were so happy she married such a dear man. Every bit of their reception spoke of their unselfishness and sense of fun. Something we have never seen--Masaki, the groom, fed his bride the cake from a spoon. Then two spoons were presented to the guests for Yayoi to feed her groom. Guess which one we all chose!
And just so you know, here is a traditional wedding kimono…
Indy and Emma, below and Julie and Phil Welch below below, four more of our beloved friends.
So, we were foreigners dressed in traditional Japanese clothes and the Japanese were in traditional western wedding attire. It was a fun and busy week.
