I’ll have to update you on my plans to have a Japanese tea party with my daughters yesterday. Well, it didn’t quite happen like I’d hoped. After school, I had two hours to prepare a meal to take to a friend’s house whose toddler just came home from nearly a month in the hospital. So I was busy every minute.

Yet because I’d blogged about the Japanese Doll Festival, I remembered to pour the girls apple juice in pretty teacups. I couldn’t sit down with them because I was making my usual poppy seed chicken and a few side dishes. While I chopped and stirred, we talked about this Japanese celebration, and I asked if they remembered my small origami Hina Matsuri craft.

“Do y’all remember?” I asked. “It had a little drawer that opened, with candy inside?”

“Oh, yeah. I remember. I ate that candy that had all the swirls in it.” my second grader informed me.

So, it’s confirmed. One of my children has eaten ten-year-old candy and lived to tell about it.

We did eat with chopsticks last night — probably because the rice I made turned out a bit clumpy, and my son noticed it would be easy to eat with chopsticks. Actually, he got out the wooden shishkabob skewers and ate with those. The girls used my pretty painted chopsticks that are made of plastic — but the rice is more slippery to eat.

My kindergarten-aged daughter lost her first tooth yesterday. I ended up pulling it before dinner. She had me laughing so hard — every sentence she said throughout the afternoon included something about her loose tooth. Here are some examples:

“My tooth got loose today at school because I ate an apple … I hope we’re not having apples for supper because I have a loose tooth … I think I’ll look like a first grader if I lose my tooth today … Will the tooth fairy come visit me if I lose my loose tooth? … Does a loose tooth hurt when it comes out? … Do you think Daddy knows that I have a loose tooth? … I better call Daddy and make sure he knows I have a loose tooth.” Etc. Etc. About 900 more times.

You know, I just realized we don’t have a Daughter’s Day here in America. We have a Mother’s Day of course in May. But why not a special day to celebrate daughters?

I found this little Japanese song that is enjoyed on Hina Matsuri. I got out my dictionary to look up some of the words, then I found a translation online. I would translate it a little differently:

Akari o tsukemasho bonbori ni. Let’s go light the Japanese paper lanterns.
Ohana o agemasho momo no hana. Let’s offer the peach flowers.
Go-nin bayashi no fue taiko. Five musicians will play tamborines and flutes.
Kyo wa tanoshii hina matsuri. We enjoyed today’s Doll Festival very much!

What do you think, Momkori-san?

We enjoyed our Doll Festival very much too! 🙂

I think you must know by now that I’m completely hooked. If I’m not blogging, chances are I’ve got about five posts running through my head, and I’m wondering when I’ll get a chance to write them down before I forget.

So, I was out grocery shopping — in the frozen food aisle picking out juice — and I thought, Today’s March 3rd! I’ve got to blog about Hina Matsuri! But then I thought, I’ve already blogged once today … people are going to KNOW I’m really obsessed if they check back and see something new.

Then I finally decided, I don’t care. I want to show everybody a picture of those dolls!

So here’s my news: today’s a really special holiday in Japan celebrating the JOY of having daughters! Now, I apologize to my Japanese readers who may have already read my blog today and think I’d forgetten. How many hours ahead are you? About 12? You must be asleep by now. (Gomen nasai — sorry!)

Anyway, when I lived in Japan, every family with a daughter had some sort of display set up for this happy celebration. People loved telling me about the dolls — each one has a very special meaning and place to be set up. Some of these elaborate displays are worth thousands of dollars and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Here’s a picture:

Here’s some information I’ve copied verbatim from this beautiful website:

“The Doll’s Festival, also known as the Peach Festival, Momo-no-Sekku, takes place on March 3. Hina matsuri (hina means dolls and matsuri means festival) is a time to pray for the well-being of young girls.

Most homes with young girls will set up a display of hina ningyo (hina dolls) like the one you see above. The dolls were originally handmade, but have since become mass produced. Around the display peach blossoms, rice cakes, special colored and diamond shaped rice cakes called hishimochi and white sake are placed as offerings. This festival has been celebrated in Japan since the Edo Period (1603-1867).

The main dolls used in the displays are Odairi-sama, a prince and Ohina-sama, a princess, who sit at the very top tier, surrounded by their courtiers.”

Please go visit here if you’re interested because she has tons of links and adorable craft ideas.

Here’s another site with gorgeous paintings of Japanese holidays from the book, Floating Lanterns and Golden Shrines. On May 5th, the boys will have their turn. This is called Kodomo no Hi, and families with sons will display samurai warriors and carp flags. I’ll have to remember to blog about that in May.

On a personal note, I recently discovered a miniature Hina matsuri orgiami craft that someone had given me years ago. It was packed away in a box with all sorts of treasures. In this display, a tiny little drawer opened, and inside was some colorful candy, which I’d never eaten. My kids found it and wanted to know if they could eat the candy!

I wonder what I can do today to celebrate having daughters. Maybe I can dig out one of my Japanese tea sets that’s been packed away, and we’ll have an apple juice tea party in honor of all the little girls in the world. (Now see, if I hadn’t blogged about it, I wouldn’t have thought of this.)

How about you? Do you have a daughter? Tell her you love her today!

This week’s Carnival of Beauty will be hosted by Amanda of following an unknown path, who is currently living in Taiwan. How interesting! I decided to look up Taiwan on a map because I’m a little rusty on my geography. I’ve never been there before, and so I’m sure I’ll enjoy exploring Amanda’s blog to learn more about why she’s there and where exactly she makes her home.

Seeing that map of Taiwan brought back memories of something I haven’t thought of in over a decade. When I was living in Japan, I rode my bike every Saturday morning to a little community center to study Japanese. My class was only three people: me, a businessman from Malaysia, and a college student from Taiwan. We had a wonderful volunteer teacher who truly loved teaching us her language and enjoyed taking us on “field trips” all over Osaka and Kobe. She also cooked us dinner in her home — where we all had to practice the language lessons she’d been teaching us!

My Taiwanese friend was named Ryu — I’m not sure if that’s spelled correctly in English! He was really proud of his tea ceremony technique. I remember my friends gave me a little birthday party when I turned 25, and Ryu had an elaborate tea ceremony for me — showing us how his family has made tea for centuries.

I’ve lost touch with those friends, and I hope they’re all doing well. Amanda’s blog looks so refreshing! I can’t imagine how different my life might have been in Japan if I’d kept a blog. Instead, I spent every night in my room writing letters — by hand. I searched the stationery shops for interesting Japanese writing paper, and I made several trips to the post office every week. I always looked forward to checking my mail!

The topic for this week’s Carnival is “The Beauty of Serving.” Amanda says to send our post link by 3 pm on Tuesday, which will be 6 am on Wednesday in Taiwan. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with. Would you like to submit something?

Don’t forget to stop by Sallie’s site at Two Talent Living — she’s the official sponsor of the Carnival, but she’s taking a break. I certainly enjoyed her recent post about why she’s pulling back from “gadding about” in the blogosphere — since I’ve only been blogging four months, she gave me plenty of food for thought!

P.S. I just discovered Amanda is also a FlyLady fan — she’ll have to come visit me on Fridays here in my blog so we can encourage each other. I liked her post on how FlyLady helped her change the way she sees time.

Dai Yorokobi. Is that how you say it? Big joy. Great joy. Maybe I made this up, but this is what I’m feeling today.

Our mail carrier delivered us a wonderful package of rice cakes from my friend Yoko in Japan. I haven’t seen her in over ten years, and yet she’s never forgotten to send me something special for Christmas.

This year we’ve exchanged email addresses — so I can thank her right away. And she’s been reading my blog — so maybe she already knows I got her package. Domo arigato gozaimasu! Totemo oishikatta desu! I can’t imagine how long it must take for her to write me in English — I sure could not write in Japanese without spending hours with a dictionary.

I don’t know if I have the right word for these — I say they’re Japanese rice cakes — senbei. But there may be another special term for them since they’re so exquisitely wrapped. (Almost like this picture, though they’re wrapped in lavender floral paper.)

Each individual package contains about 6 small rice cakes; some have nori (seaweed) wrapped around them, and others have different flavors. We all enjoyed them, and I taught my kids to say, Kore wa oishii desu, which means “this is delicious.”

Last week I received an enthustiastic email from a high school student who is head over heels in love with Japan. She’s trying to figure out how she can go there, and she’d love a pen pal to correspond with. Are any of my Nihonjin readers interested in corresponding with an American high school student? Please comment or email me. Here’s a little bit of her message to me:

My plan is to be there for a semester next year (my junior year). I know I am young and I haven’t been away from home much, but this is my dream…I hope to get a job soon and then I will spend the rest of my time studying this language and culture. Do you know of any families in Japan that are looking for a penpal?

How exciting! More dai yorokobi. There’s nothing better to do while you’re young and in high school than to get away from the stifling peer pressure and do something DIFFERENT. When I was her age, I was so caught up in petty, boring things — like what to wear on the weekends — when LIFE in the real exciting world was passing me by. I didn’t know anything existed beyond the walls of my high school. So this student is WAY ahead — and I’m thrilled that she shared her dreams with me.

Here’s something to memorize — from my Japanese Bible:

Itsumo yorokonde inasai. Taezu inori nasai. Subete no koto ni tsuite kansha shinasai.
(If my romaji spelling is wrong, it’s been a while — sorry.)

“Be joyful always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a.

P.S. Thanks to those of you who have faithfully kept voting for me during this 10-day Weblog Awards polling. Today’s the last day you can vote.

Manga ga suki desu ka? Do you like Japanese comics?

If you’re not too familiar with this word, well you should be. Especially if you’re a parent and you want to keep up with what kids today are reading. When I did a google search on “manga,” over 11 million sites popped up. So, I’ve had a hard time picking and choosing what’s best, so I’ll have something useful for you.

When I lived in Japan, I was swept away by the cultural phenomenon of reading manga. These comic books were everywhere. Since I commuted by train, I was fascinated to see so many fellow passengers deeply engrossed in a comic book. People of all ages, even men in business suits. And every train station had at least one kiosk that sold snacks, electronic gadgets, and comic books.

Since over 99% of Japan’s population is literate, most people are avid readers (unlike America — I read that 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year! See this for statistics.) I feel like much of comic’s popularity (among older readers) has to do with the transportation system in Japan — I mean, you have to do something while you ride a train! In America, we’re in cars most of the time, so we listen to the radio more. Here’s a quick statistic on sales of manga:

The total sales of published material in Japan (including magazines and books but excluding newspapers) is two trillion five-hundred billion yen, of which manga sales account for nearly one quarter. Given a total Japanese population of 120 million, we can calculate that the average Japanese spends approximately 2,000 yen per year on manga in one form or another.

I was curious to see what my Japanese students were reading, so I flipped through a few — but I had no idea which ones were popular, and to be honest, there were some that were violent and vulgar, much the same as an R-rated movie would appear in print. Here’s a great series of articles about manga that shows you what a Tokyo comics store looks like. Shelves and shelves and SHELVES! And here’s an even more in-depth set of articles from Wikipedia.

When I discovered the university I was attending offered a course called “Manga” I jumped at the chance to take it. My professor was an expert on this topic, and we studied the most popular comics and anime (cartoons). It was an amazing way for me to study Japanese pop culture because it was as up-to-date as possible. Since our class was composed of both American and Japanese students, I learned so much from my Japanese peers. It was also a GREAT way for me to connect with the children I taught because I could use some of the characters in my English lessons, and they thought I was a pretty cool teacher (it made them laugh!). Here’s a site that shows some popular anime, including one of my favorites, Totoro.

I did some temp work at one point at a Japanese comics magazine called Mangajin. It’s funny — my husband still wears my Mangajin T-shirt a lot. If you go to their site, you can read several great articles about Japanese culture.

Now here is the most interesting news: Christian publisher Barbour is releasing the first of a new series of comics for girls. The genre: inspirational manga. The title is Serenity. I’ve sent a request to review this comic, so I’ll be sure to tell you what I think about it here if they send me a copy. Here’s a source for articles on Christian comic books.

INSPIRATIONAL MANGA!!! Can you believe it?

Now this is something I can get really excited about. Japanese culture, tween girls who are reading instead of watching TV, and Christianity! Personally, I think kids learn more from reading fiction than non-fiction. It’s showing instead of telling. If a manga can be used to capture kids’ attention and deepen their faith, THAT’s a wonderful thing. Thank you, Barbour. If I were from California, I would say you ROCK!

P.S. [11/11/05 — Since posting this, I’ve gotten two emails from Barbour’s marketing dept. My review copy of Serenity is on the way. Can’t wait!]

So…what do you think?

I know many of you reading my blog are parents, and if you’re like me, you want your kids to be reading great books. Let me tell you, KAMISHIBAI MAN is absolutely amazing. It’s like walking through a museum in many ways — and don’t we feel great when we take our kids to a museum? We feel like it’s worth the admission price to ensure our children know how to appreciate history, art, and beauty.

Allen Say is both author and illustrator of this book, and this is his story. In the introduction, he writes, “When I think of my childhood in Japan, I think of kamishibai. It means ‘paper theater.’ Every afternoon, the kamishibai man came on a bicycle that had a big wooden box mounted on the back seat. The box had drawers full of candies and a stage at the top. We bought candies and listened to the man’s stories.”

Say was born in Yokohama in 1937, into a very different Japan than what exists now. Back in the days where people didn’t have televisions in their homes, children would eagerly anticipate listening to the kamishibai man’s stories. “Clack! Clack!” He would beat his wooden blocks together until he’d drawn a crowd of listeners. His stories were cliffhangers, ending with “to be continued.” So the children would return the next day to hear what happened next.

In this book, an old man who has retired to the countryside remembers his days of being a kamishibai man. “I’ve been thinking how much I miss going on my rounds,” he says to his elderly wife. So, she makes him some candies, and he rides his bike back into the city, humming along the way (until he reaches the urban metropolis). Much has changed. The trees and quiet parks have been replaced with concrete and buildings. “Who needs to buy so many things and eat so many different foods?” he wonders to himself.

The cover of the book shows you what his theater looks like. (Oh, don’t you love that picture?) He takes out his wooden blocks and clacks them together, just like in the old times. In his mind, he’s seeing the happy faces of children running to him. Thus begins a story within a story, and Say changes his style of artwork to preserve the style of the kamishibai man’s illustrated cards.

He tells the story of what it was like for him when TVs came along and began to replace his job as entertainer. In a poignant scene, a little girl comes to her window and shushes him! You can see her siblings inside, sitting mesmerized in front of a television set. The sadness on the storyteller’s face expresses the end of an era.

But as the elderly man finishes his story, he looks up to see that he’s surrounded by clapping middle-aged people, who remember him. “We grew up with your stories!” one of them shouts. They applaud him, and he’s even filmed by a news station (which is ironic, isn’t it?).

The facial expressions in the artwork are stunning; you have to look at each picture carefully to notice all the exquisite details. I’ve watched my five-year-old stare and stare at these pictures.

KAMISHIBAI MAN has received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist, and I won’t be surprised if it wins some kind of award. If you’re a baby boomer or older, you’ve GOT to see the painting on p. 27 — it’s worth framing. This would be a great addition to school libraries and classrooms — teachers will love to read it out loud because it’s captivating and full of dialogue.

In the afterword, a Japanese folklore scholar explains more of the significance of Japan’s post-war transition to an electric, affluent society. She writes, “The artists who had made their living in kamishibai turned to more lucrative pursuits, notably the creation of manga (comic books) and later anime [cartoons], but they never forgot their roots in kamishibai.”

Manga! Comic books. They’re everywhere. My kids love them. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you something new I discovered recently. I hope you’ll come back to visit. (Hmmm…wish I had some wooden cyberblocks to clap.)

Our doorbell rang the other day, and I opened it to see our postwoman, who smiled and handed me a large, flat manilla package. When I looked at the return address, I couldn’t believe it – “Say.” It was a package from Allen Say, the author, the illustrator, the Caldecott Medalist – my favorite writer about all things Japanese!

Here’s a recent picture I found of him at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. I hope I’m not breaking any copyright laws by posting this — it’s from his publisher, Houghton Mifflin Books.

Image source: Houghton Mifflin Books

Here, at last, my virtual world collided with my real one. Mr. Say (Say-San, as he prefers to be called) and I have corresponded since last spring when he emailed me in response to a letter I sent him.

Let me explain.

I was sitting on the couch with my kids, making our way through a stack of picture books from the library. Most were the same old, same old — shapes, numbers, talking animals. But one — I’d picked out because it had a medal on the front, and it looked different: Grandfather’s Journey.

Finally, I started reading that one, and when I’d read about three pages, I just burst into tears. My kids asked me what was wrong, and I said, “He understands! Here is someone who understands!”

Say wrote this story about his grandfather, who was raised in Japan, but spent many years of his adult life in America. At last, he returned to Japan, but his heart was always in two places. He writes, “…I return now and then, when I can not still the longing in my heart. The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.”

When I finished reading this book, all I can say is there was some kind of “awakening” going on in my heart. It had been years since I’d attempted any kind of creative writing, but I felt like some kind of dam burst — and I HAD to start writing.

A few days later, I wrote some poems about Japan — about my mom and me having tea in a garden in Hiroshima. The irony was too much for me…almost too much to put into words. For some reason, I felt like I should send them to Allen Say — even though I’d never done this sort of thing before and I thought for sure he’d be too busy or they would get lost. I looked up his publisher’s address and mailed my letter off to Boston.

He wrote me back — via email! And he encouraged me to start writing about Japan. So I did. I’ve written lots of things — not all about Japan — but my well overflows, and I’ve reached a point in life where I feel compelled to write every day now.

I went back to the library and checked out all the picture books of his I could find. You’ve GOT to see them. They’re magnificent! We started an Allen Say bookshelf in our house and bought several books for our family to treasure: Tea With Milk, Tree of Cranes, Emma’s Rug, The Bicycle Man, Stranger in the Mirror, The Boy of the Three-Year Nap, and How My Parents Learned to Eat.

So, back to my package from Oregon — inside was a book, carefully wrapped in crisp, white paper. Say inscribed the book to my children, and drew a picture of himself holding an ink brush, with little droplets of paint leading to their names. He also included a hand-written card, illustrated with the cover from Tree of Cranes.

The book is called KAMISHIBAI MAN, and it was released last month. I wrote him immediately to thank him for the book, and within a few minutes received a nice message from his publicist telling me he would be on tour in the Southeast. I wanted to go meet him so badly when he spoke at Duke University — but it just couldn’t work out with our schedule.

Anyway, stop in tomorrow, and I’ll tell you what KAMISHIBAI MAN means. I think it’s his greatest book ever. You’ll love it too if you’re someone who prefers words on a page and storytelling — rather than sitting mindlessly in front of the idiot box.

I’ve discovered Allen Say to be a kindred spirit indeed.

P.S. If you would like to contact Allen Say, please write his publisher, Houghton Mifflin Books.

I’ve held it in as long as I can — and now your emails have finally ignited my passion. THANK YOU to those of you who’ve written to ask — Yes, I love Japan!

Here’s where I lived for two years: Osaka, Japan. It’s the second-largest city next to Tokyo, located in the culturally rich Kansai region. Here’s a map to show you where Osaka is. And here’s a picture of Osaka Castle, which I visited at least once a week (it’s amazing during Cherry Blossom season). Japan is a very safe country — I went there alone and was never afraid to take a train, ride my bike, or walk anywhere — day or night.

I was hired to work as an English teacher for a church, Suita Bible Gospel Church. I taught English conversation to adults on Sunday mornings to attract people to visit our church (many of my students stayed for the service.) Then I helped start and co-teach a Bible study for foreign students who visited our church — we welcomed friends from dozens of countries (such as Africa, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Korea, England, France, and Germany) where we shared the common bond of speaking English and wanting to learn more about the Bible. These students were some of the world’s brightest, most talented individuals I’ve ever met in my life — many on full scholarship.

I lived with a Japanese family my first year, then in a student dormitory the next. During the week, I taught English lessons in people’s homes, a kindergarten, a university, and several private language schools. I then spent the rest of my time going to every cultural event possible — and studied Japanese language at least three hours a day. (I also attended Kansai University of Foreign Studies, then came home and completed a degree in Japanese Language and Lit.) Here’s part of an article I wrote about teaching English in Japan for International Living Magazine.

I’ll have to tell you that our big news is that it looks like we’re going to have a Japanese family come stay with us a few months from now. This dear friend of mine hosted me and my mom in her family’s home, located a short train ride from Tokyo.

Now, I’ll be able to at last return the favor. She has three children, and she wants them to experience what an American school is like — great idea! So, of course, my mind has already skipped ahead — and I’m thinking wouldn’t it be great if my kids could go visit her kids’ Japanese school someday? When I get a dream in my head like that, what I start doing is praying about it — and if it’s God’s plan for us, it WILL happen!

I know there are many of you out there who love Japan — so hopefully, you’ll click on into my blog and I’ll build up a file in my Japan category. For starters, one of my son’s Boy Scout leaders told me that his daughter (Stephanie!) is absolutely crazy about all things Japanese — and she’s been wanting to talk to me about it. But — of course, it’s hard to find the time. So, I’m blogging for Stephanie, as well as many of you who have asked me about Japan, and whether or not I can speak or read Japanese (I can).

Hey, even my two-year-old son can count to ten in Japanese, so let me at least teach you that! ichi–ni–san–shi–go–roku–schichi–hachi–ku–ju! You can do it!

One of my most treasured possessions is my Japanese Bible, Nihongo no Seisho. I bought it at a Christian bookstore in Osaka, and my friend Yoko hand-stitched me a pastel pink cover with a zipper. I used to read verses out loud every day; I haven’t in a while, but since I’m blogging about it, of course that will make me do it!

Here’s a picture of my mom and me in Kyoto when she came to visit me. Notice the cherry blossoms, sakura, in the background. It was absolutely unbelievable timing that her visit coincided with this short-lived burst of pink blooms. Sometimes, the blooms only appear a few days, and no one is sure when they’ll arrive. In fact, since there’s so little crime in Japan, the newscasters focus much of their spring coverage on the Sakura Zensen, the cherry blossom front that begins blooming in the warmer southern islands and slowly moves upward into the northern region. Then everyone goes outside to enjoy Ohana-mi, Cherry Blossom Viewing. And there’s an expression, Hana Yori Dango, which means it’s much more fun to eat than to just look at the blossoms — so the outdoor feasts are exquisite!

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you something very exciting that happened around here when my love of books collided with my love of Japan. Until then, Sayonara!