無 The Invisible Dance

金継ぎのワークショップの次回の日程が決まりましたのでお知らせいたします。

つい割ったり欠けさせてしまったのに手放すことができずお家で眠らせている器をお持ちの方も多いと思います。この機会に金継ぎを施してもう一度日々の器として蘇らせてみませんか？講師は蒔絵職人でもある中川寧子さん。初めて金継ぎをされる方にも分かりやすく使いやすい材料や手法に、本格的な漆や金を蒔いて仕上げていただきます。約２時間の間にお話を伺い実習していただき、乾き待ちの間にはお茶のご用意もございます。ご興味のある方はぜひご参加お待ちしております。

・日時：8月26日（火）13時～15時30分（予定）

・講師：中川寧子さん　（蒔絵師）

・受講料：5,000円（受講料、材料費込み。お茶・お菓子付き）

・持ち物：金継ぎしたい陶磁器（ワレの方は１点、カケの方は２点まで。お申し込みの際に状態をお聞かせください）、エプロン、ゴム手袋（漆を扱う際に使用します）、筆記具。

・定員数：６名　(定員となりました！ありがとうございます）

＊金継ぎいただいた陶磁器は１日乾燥させるためにお預かりいたします。翌日からのお渡しとなりますのでよろしくお願いいたします。

＊お申し込み・お問い合わせ

hisoca TEL：075-202-3574

または mail : [email protected] 

李[Sumomo] Prunus salicina

Native to China and it was introduced in the distant past. It produces rather small fruits similar to Momo(Peach, P. persica) from summer to early autumn. It is said that the name is derived from 酸い桃. 酸い[Sui] means sour.

Well, there are phrases as follows.

すもももももももものうち(李も桃も桃の内) [Sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi] Both Sumomo and Momo are one of Momo This is a tongue twister. (Both belong to the genus Prunus) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumomomo,_Momomo

むらむらはもももすもももはらむらむ(村々は桃も李も孕むらむ) [Muramura wa momo mo sumomo mo haramu ramu(ran)] In the villages, both Momo and Sumomo will grow fruits This is a palindrome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaibun

これをアップする季節がやってきた！ 桜・梅・桃・杏・李の 見分け&描き分けメモ🌸

"Oubaitori" (桜梅桃李) is a Japanese idiom, literally meaning "cherry, plum, peach, and apricot". It symbolises the idea that everyone blooms and grows at their own pace, encouraging self-acceptance and avoiding comparison with others.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

The Four Trees:

The term "oubaitori" is derived from the kanji characters for the four trees that bloom in spring: cherry (桜 - ou), plum (梅 - bai), peach (桃 - tou), and apricot (李 - ri).

The Meaning:

Each of these trees blooms at a different time, reflecting the idea that individuals, like flowers, have their own unique timing and journey through life.

Avoiding Comparison:

The core message of oubaitori is to avoid comparing oneself to others and to embrace one's own unique path and timing.

Self-Acceptance:

It encourages self-acceptance and the understanding that everyone has their own strengths, weaknesses, and pace of growth.

Celebrating Individuality:

Oubaitori celebrates individuality and the beauty of diversity, reminding us that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to bloom.

An intriguing concept, especially when one considers that so many non-Japanese would probably assume that most Japanese people are incapable of such an outlook on life.

It's blossom season again in Japan, so I'm sharing this blossom-related yo-ji-juku-go (Japanese 4-character idiom). It's also one of my favourites.

It is comprised of 4 beloved Japanese trees which blossom in spring. They are:

桜 = cherry (sakura)

梅 = apricot (ume)

桃 = peach (momo)

李 = plum (sumomo)

Each of these trees blooms in its own time and in its own unique way, hence the meaning "don't compare yourself to others".

Here's a little more info on each of the trees:

桜 (sakura) are of course the cherry blossom trees famous for blooming spectacularly and incredibly briefly once a year, usually in April. Sakura trees in full bloom is an annual event, and people go to their local park to see them, take photos, and have picnics underneath them. It's such a big deal that it's reported on the weather forecast, with reporters commenting on how quickly the "sakura front" is moving northwards across the country.

梅 (ume) is the "ume" in umeshu! This is a sweet liqueur which is made from soaking ume in sake. It tastes amazing, and is one of the things I miss most about Japan. Japanese learners will no doubt recognise "ume" as usually being translated as "plum", however it is technically closer to the Western apricot.

桃 (momo) is one of the best-loved fruits in Japan. There is even a fairy story called "Momo-taro" about a little boy who comes from inside a peach. He grows up to be a great hero, of course, and saves everyone from a demon. "Momo" is also a fairly common girls' name.

李 (sumomo) are known as "Japanese plums" or "Asian plums". The trees are famous for their delicate white flowers. They usually bloom just before the sakura. Whilst not as famous or as showy as sakura, they are well-loved for their elegance, and for being a sign of spring.

This artwork is available from my Etsy site here.

Vocabulary words inspired by spring (あ～ん)

あ

雨曇り　あまぐもり　overcast weather

稲　いね　rice plant

梅暦　うめごよみ　plum blossoms (as a harbinger of spring)

遠足　えんそく　excursion, outing, trip (usually a school trip)

桜花　おうか　cherry blossom

か

花粉症　かふんしょう　hay fever, pollen allergy

帰鴈　きがん　wild geese returning north in the spring

草餅　くさもち　rice-flour dumplings mixed with mugwort (associated with Hinamatsuri)

毛虫　けむし　hairy caterpillar; pest

事始め　ことはじめ　taking up a new line of work, the beginning of things

さ

山林　さんりん　mountain forest

漆器　しっき　lacquerware

李　すもも　Japanese plum (usu. written in kana)

青春　せいしゅん　youth, springtime of life, adolescence

早春　そうしゅん　early spring

た

蒲公英　たんぽぽ　dandelion (usu. written in kana)

地水　ちすい　pond water, pond

土筆／筆頭菜　つくし　fertile shoot of field horsetail (usu. written in kana)

天気雨　てんきあめ　sun shower, sudden rain from a blue sky

踏青　とうせい　outing in spring

な

梨　なし　Japanese pear

鰊曇り　にしんぐもり　cloudy weather near Hokkaido during the herring season (from the third to the sixth lunar month)

布子　ぬのこ　clothes padded with cotton

根分け　ねわけ　dividing a plant's roots for transplanting

野原　のはら　field, plain, prairie, moor

は

春たけなわ　はるたけなわ　spring is in full swing, height of spring (esp. in April), peak of spring [oft. formulaic seasonal greeting in letters]

ひな祭り　ひなまつり　

藤　ふじ　wisteria

遍路　へんろ　pilgrimage, pilgrim

干す　ほす　to air, to dry

ま

満開　まんかい　full bloom (esp. of cherry blossom)

蜜蜂　みつばち　honeybee (usu. written in kana)

虫除け　むしよけ　insect repellent

芽吹く　めぶく　to bud

桃園　ももぞの　peach orchard

や

柳　やなぎ　willow

雪消　ゆきげ　snow melting

夜桜　よざくら　evening cherry blossom viewing

ら

落花　らっか　falling petals

緑草　りょくそう　green grass

累日　るいじつ　many days

麗日　れいじつ　glorious spring day

炉塞ぎ　ろふさぎ　closing of the winter hearth

わ

若葉　わかば　new leaves

学校を卒業する　がっこうをそつぎょうする　to graduate from school

Alan Watts