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大江戸骨董市 おおえどこっとういち Oedo-antique market

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I visited Oedo Antique Market for the first time. https://www.antique-market.jp/english/ The place was bigger than I imagined. The place was probably about the size of two tennis courts, where there were so many shops. At first, what I noticed was a glass from the Rome area 1000 years ago. Shine of the glass  by chemically reacting with the soil  over 1000 years. They sold  Japanese antique items such as  Japanese tableware, calligraphy supplies,  Japanese old hair accessories and Western  ones such as  foreign bottles, stamps, Christ cards. There were many antique accessories, so I decided to look for a gift for my mother with my husband. Most of them were sold for 1000 yen( $10) , but some accessories were cheaper and some accessories were over 10,000 yen( $100) . We chose antique brooch which was made 60-70 years ago in England for my mother. It's not glittering, but I thought it would look good on elegant and casual clothes. My husba...

書道 Sho-do

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I introduce you "書道Sho-do" which is calligraphy in English. "Sho" means writing and "Do" means the way and decency. In Japan, 華道 Ka-do(flower arrangement), 茶道 Sa-do(tea ceremony) and 柔道 Ju-do everything use the 道 Do.  “Do” means Courtesy and polite. We are writing of Japanese 漢字Kanji character and Furthermore characters by a brush in Indiana ink.  Japanese calligraphy comes from China. "Sho-do" has been in existence since the 5 th century and transmitted hand copying of a sutra along with Buddhism since the 6 th to 7 th century. Furthermore, Katakana characters were generated from Manyo-gana character. “Manyoushu” is the oldest anthology of poems by Manyo-gana. The aristocrat peoples and the Samurai peoples had leaned "Sho-do" for their education since Edo period.  I had taken "Sho-do" lesson since I was a elementary student until 2011. In my opinion, when I do "Sho-do" I open and clear my mind(forget everyt...

いい夫婦(ふうふ)の日(ひ) Good couple day

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In November 22 nd is Good couple day called “ii fufu no hi” in Japan. 11(November) can be called “ii“ for good, 22 nd can be called “fufu“ for married couple  in Japanese sounds. That's why November 22 nd  is “ii fufu no hi”. “ii fufu no hi” was set in 1985. If I'm not mistaken, it was not so popular in the past, but is getting popular now. Many couple tend to have wedding on November 22 nd  to be “ii fufu”. I think one of the key elements of “ii fufu” is communication. I used to live in Texas in 2014 - 2019. At the beginning, I was surprised about frequent communication of couples. When I hung out with my friend for lunch, always my friend received calling from her husband. One time I asked her, “Why did he call you?” and she said, “Nothing special. He said what are you doing now?” I heard that they talked over the phone about 5 times a day. Even though there is no business, he just called her because he would like to hear her voice. Japanese couples have...

七五三Shichi-Go-San

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"Shichi-Go-San" literally means seven, five and three in Japanese. "Shichi-Go-San" is a traditional Japanese ceremony celebrating the growth, good health and long life for three and five years old boys and three and seven years old girls. They wear traditional costume "Kimono". We go to a shrine or a temple to celebrate children’s growth. The parents gave them long stick candy which are red and white. Those colors are considered auspicious for Japanese. The candy name is "Chitose ame". "Chitose" means one thousand years. Long candy symbolizes meaning of  "Shichi-Go-San", wishing for a long healthy life of children. "Shichi-go-san" is one of the few chances when you can see Japanese Kimono in end of October or November. I wore Wedding Kimono in the Shrine.

ありがとう Arigatou

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I like the word "God bless you". However, our language do not have one that is exact same definition as “God bless you”. Personally, I want to use "God bless you" as it is in Japanese, same as English speaker uses "Kawaii" in their languages. Sometimes, "God bless you" is translated into "Arigatou". Arigatou is a magical word which has broad interpretation including sense of "God bless you" . The primary meaning of "Arigatou" is "Thank you". From Kanji character point of view, "Arigatou" means "something that is not easy to exist", which expresses appreciation to everything happens to me, for instance, love from family, support of friends, kindness of people who just pass, etc. Also, we say "Arigatou" when we can overcome the ordeal that God gives us. Getting older, I feel more "Arigatou" to God because I became who I am based on successes and fails on all the way to ...