Picture Diary 3: Ikebana and kimono
As predicted, this post will be all about my adventure with kimono and ikebana (Japanese flower arranging). This should be fun ^_^ (NOTE: As usual, lots of images under the cut; loading times may vary.)
This morning Mallory and I started out early from the dorms, leaving before any of the 18 other participants because we both tend to bike very slowly. It was also our first time finding our way to the train station without someone to guide us. But other than a few moments of uncertainty and a consultation of a map of our section of Hikone, we had no trouble finding the station, and we were in fact the first ones there -- beating even the woman we were supposed to meet.
But before long, we saw our contact, a small, middle-aged Japanese woman wearing a kimono, hurrying toward us. Then, in twos and clumps, the rest of the students arrived, and five minutes before the train left (10 minutes after the scheduled meeting time), we were finally ready to go.
After a half hour train ride (standing room only, as the express train usually is during daylight hours it seems) and a slightly shorter ride on a hotel shuttle, we arrived at our destination, Hotel Laforet Biwako.
The hotel was fairly high class, with a nice lobby and pretty crystal lights. Almost as soon as we got inside, the girls were hurried to a large room to be dressed ... in kimono.
(me -- they also put my hair up and put a tree flowers in it.)
(my friend, Mallory)
(my classmates, Tori and Mollie)
Since I'm an able-bodied, upper middle class girl, I've (naturally!) dressed myself since I was little. Being dressed by someone else is a strange experience, but kimono are so complicated that I know I could not have done it on my own, and the women were very professional. We didn't have to wear the complicated under-kimono layers, but we were all wrapped about the neck and chest with a length of fabric a few inches wide instead (that's the white that pokes out the neck of the kimono). Next we slipped on the kimono itself, after which came the most complicated part: the obi, the special sash of the kimono. I couldn't follow the process of woman dressing me, but I know she tied me around at least three times in order to affix and properly shape the obi. It was pretty tight! Breathing wasn't hard, but deep breaths were definitely out.
Here's a look at my obi, which was plain (some had pictures or intricate patterns). I also wanted to show the length of my sleeves. Of course, if you look at the woman in the background, you can tell that the Japanese around were both baffled and amused by my posture.
After donning our kimono, we were urged into a conference room filled with flower arrangements. Traditional Japanese music played in the background. At the front of the room, two little girls in kimono were creating new arrangements. I couldn't see well because of all the people in front of me, but it was very charming to be simply sitting in this atmosphere, wearing a kimono.
After the girls had finished, we had a few moments to mill around before being pulled out to our own ikebana lesson. The lesson was really just a short experience in creating our own flower arrangements, with ample help (often, one of the little old kimono-wearing women there would come up and direct us specifically, even arranging flowers for us). I have to say, I still don't know much about it other than, in traditional ikebana, only a few different types of flowers are used per arrangement. Also, specimens of the same plant/flower should be cut in different lengths (usually, long, medium, short). I may not have done much on my own, but it was a lot of fun, and we got to keep the flower arrangements we worked on.
My flower arrangement.
While waiting for the next part of the program, the girls decided to take pictures of the boys in their hakama, two-piece traditional Japanese clothing.
Not all of them are in this picture, but needless to say, the boys on this trip were far outnumbered by us girls. (Not that it bothered them!)
Next on the schedule was traditional Japanese green tea and okashi, sweets.
This sweet was almost too pretty to eat. I don't know exactly what it was -- it tasted a bit like anko -- but it was good.
The green tea, on the other hand, was a bit daunting. Apparently it's green tea made with matcha (green tea powder), which is the kind used in Japanese tea ceremonies. But I drank it nonetheless; it tasted like grass, which is not to say that it was bad, just that ... it tasted like grass. I wouldn't mind trying it again, though.
After the tea, we were seated in a big room where we would obviously be eating lunch (it was pretty classy; there was even a guy to push our chairs in for us, which of course impressed all of us girls). But why have a "snack" so soon before lunch? The ikebana exhibit was put on by an ikebana group, which was having a meeting of sorts over lunch. A number of people in charge talked (it was in Japanese, so I missed most of it despite the translator we had -- he was only able to translate part of what was said because of the speakers' speed of word flow and the length of their speeches), and one woman related the history of ikebana (which I also missed most of ... oh well). I did catch that we were thanked numerous times for coming, which was really nice of our hosts since they had done SO MUCH for us. (I should note here that the only thing we had to pay for was train fare from Hikone to Moriyama, where the hotel was.)
Eventually (after a toast with iced tea) it came time to eat. The food was just ... really cute.
The sandwich platter each person had -- more filling than it looks.
There was also a tray of freshly cut fruit ...
... And last but certainly not least, a tray full of snacks including (in the foreground), dorayaki, two little spongecake pancakes with sweet red bean paste in the middle (yummy!).
During the meal, women in kimono did more ikebana.
After we all finished eating, there were a few more speeches, and several JCMU students were even invited to talk to the crowd. (Luckily, I wasn't chosen -- I'm awful at public speaking.)
Since we were all a bit warm from being in a crowded room wearing several layers (I neglected to mention the kimono were on over our other clothes), we decided to go outside once the festivities had ended.
A rare candid shot. It was refreshingly chilly but unfortunately raining outside.
We still opted for a picture in front of the pretty waterfall. (But two of the girls went back inside, which is why there are only 18 of us.) I love this picture.
Once back inside, Shaina and Mallory wanted a picture with our translator, who was a very amusing man with very good English. The girl in the red kimono is Cathy, a first year student in the Japanese language who is regularly mistaken for a Japanese person (meaning she has lots of people spout Japanese at her, none of which she understands). Our translator called Cathy "Texas" for the day, since that's her home state.
Then it was time for us to change out of our kimono and return ourselves back to being "normal" foreigners in Japan. It reminded me a lot of the feeling I would get after fancy school events (homecoming, banquet) -- I was eager to get out of my restrictive kimono, but reluctant to put aside the feeling of being a proper (Japanese) lady.
Before we left for JCMU, we had a half hour to go back to the flower arrangements. Unfortunately my pictures didn't turn out too great. Nonetheless, I will post them :)
(this one was probably my favorite)
The bike ride back in the light though steady rain (with my flower arrangement adorning my bike basket) was not so magical, but the day was very much worth it. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.
This morning Mallory and I started out early from the dorms, leaving before any of the 18 other participants because we both tend to bike very slowly. It was also our first time finding our way to the train station without someone to guide us. But other than a few moments of uncertainty and a consultation of a map of our section of Hikone, we had no trouble finding the station, and we were in fact the first ones there -- beating even the woman we were supposed to meet.
But before long, we saw our contact, a small, middle-aged Japanese woman wearing a kimono, hurrying toward us. Then, in twos and clumps, the rest of the students arrived, and five minutes before the train left (10 minutes after the scheduled meeting time), we were finally ready to go.
After a half hour train ride (standing room only, as the express train usually is during daylight hours it seems) and a slightly shorter ride on a hotel shuttle, we arrived at our destination, Hotel Laforet Biwako.
The hotel was fairly high class, with a nice lobby and pretty crystal lights. Almost as soon as we got inside, the girls were hurried to a large room to be dressed ... in kimono.
(me -- they also put my hair up and put a tree flowers in it.)
(my friend, Mallory)
(my classmates, Tori and Mollie)
Since I'm an able-bodied, upper middle class girl, I've (naturally!) dressed myself since I was little. Being dressed by someone else is a strange experience, but kimono are so complicated that I know I could not have done it on my own, and the women were very professional. We didn't have to wear the complicated under-kimono layers, but we were all wrapped about the neck and chest with a length of fabric a few inches wide instead (that's the white that pokes out the neck of the kimono). Next we slipped on the kimono itself, after which came the most complicated part: the obi, the special sash of the kimono. I couldn't follow the process of woman dressing me, but I know she tied me around at least three times in order to affix and properly shape the obi. It was pretty tight! Breathing wasn't hard, but deep breaths were definitely out.
Here's a look at my obi, which was plain (some had pictures or intricate patterns). I also wanted to show the length of my sleeves. Of course, if you look at the woman in the background, you can tell that the Japanese around were both baffled and amused by my posture.
After donning our kimono, we were urged into a conference room filled with flower arrangements. Traditional Japanese music played in the background. At the front of the room, two little girls in kimono were creating new arrangements. I couldn't see well because of all the people in front of me, but it was very charming to be simply sitting in this atmosphere, wearing a kimono.
After the girls had finished, we had a few moments to mill around before being pulled out to our own ikebana lesson. The lesson was really just a short experience in creating our own flower arrangements, with ample help (often, one of the little old kimono-wearing women there would come up and direct us specifically, even arranging flowers for us). I have to say, I still don't know much about it other than, in traditional ikebana, only a few different types of flowers are used per arrangement. Also, specimens of the same plant/flower should be cut in different lengths (usually, long, medium, short). I may not have done much on my own, but it was a lot of fun, and we got to keep the flower arrangements we worked on.
My flower arrangement.
While waiting for the next part of the program, the girls decided to take pictures of the boys in their hakama, two-piece traditional Japanese clothing.
Not all of them are in this picture, but needless to say, the boys on this trip were far outnumbered by us girls. (Not that it bothered them!)
Next on the schedule was traditional Japanese green tea and okashi, sweets.
This sweet was almost too pretty to eat. I don't know exactly what it was -- it tasted a bit like anko -- but it was good.
The green tea, on the other hand, was a bit daunting. Apparently it's green tea made with matcha (green tea powder), which is the kind used in Japanese tea ceremonies. But I drank it nonetheless; it tasted like grass, which is not to say that it was bad, just that ... it tasted like grass. I wouldn't mind trying it again, though.
After the tea, we were seated in a big room where we would obviously be eating lunch (it was pretty classy; there was even a guy to push our chairs in for us, which of course impressed all of us girls). But why have a "snack" so soon before lunch? The ikebana exhibit was put on by an ikebana group, which was having a meeting of sorts over lunch. A number of people in charge talked (it was in Japanese, so I missed most of it despite the translator we had -- he was only able to translate part of what was said because of the speakers' speed of word flow and the length of their speeches), and one woman related the history of ikebana (which I also missed most of ... oh well). I did catch that we were thanked numerous times for coming, which was really nice of our hosts since they had done SO MUCH for us. (I should note here that the only thing we had to pay for was train fare from Hikone to Moriyama, where the hotel was.)
Eventually (after a toast with iced tea) it came time to eat. The food was just ... really cute.
The sandwich platter each person had -- more filling than it looks.
There was also a tray of freshly cut fruit ...
... And last but certainly not least, a tray full of snacks including (in the foreground), dorayaki, two little spongecake pancakes with sweet red bean paste in the middle (yummy!).
During the meal, women in kimono did more ikebana.
After we all finished eating, there were a few more speeches, and several JCMU students were even invited to talk to the crowd. (Luckily, I wasn't chosen -- I'm awful at public speaking.)
Since we were all a bit warm from being in a crowded room wearing several layers (I neglected to mention the kimono were on over our other clothes), we decided to go outside once the festivities had ended.
A rare candid shot. It was refreshingly chilly but unfortunately raining outside.
We still opted for a picture in front of the pretty waterfall. (But two of the girls went back inside, which is why there are only 18 of us.) I love this picture.
Once back inside, Shaina and Mallory wanted a picture with our translator, who was a very amusing man with very good English. The girl in the red kimono is Cathy, a first year student in the Japanese language who is regularly mistaken for a Japanese person (meaning she has lots of people spout Japanese at her, none of which she understands). Our translator called Cathy "Texas" for the day, since that's her home state.
Then it was time for us to change out of our kimono and return ourselves back to being "normal" foreigners in Japan. It reminded me a lot of the feeling I would get after fancy school events (homecoming, banquet) -- I was eager to get out of my restrictive kimono, but reluctant to put aside the feeling of being a proper (Japanese) lady.
Before we left for JCMU, we had a half hour to go back to the flower arrangements. Unfortunately my pictures didn't turn out too great. Nonetheless, I will post them :)
(this one was probably my favorite)
The bike ride back in the light though steady rain (with my flower arrangement adorning my bike basket) was not so magical, but the day was very much worth it. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.