Fukuro mono (嚢物) purses and bags, chart by Nadeshico Rin.
Kimono don’t have pocket in the Western sense, and the easiest way of carrying something is to tuck it into your tamoto (袂, dangling pocket-like part of a kimono sleeve). But people also used many types of pouchesand cases to carry their trinkets, here are some which were used by Edo period city-deller women:
Kakemamori (懸守) amulet case, made from a cylindrical pouch slipped on a cord. In Middle Age, those pouches were put around the neck by pilgrims, mostly women, to carry gofu (talisman). Temples and sanctuaries sold amulets to facilitate childbirth, and counteract menstruation impurity (月水を穢), which was (still is nowadays) a big taboo in Japanese society. Other amulets existed, for example to protect one’s safety, or to ward off disasters. Kakemamori went through style changes but their use remained late into Meiji era.
Sage tabako ire (提げ煙草入れ) hanging tobacco pouch, put on by tucking the netsuke (根付 decorative toggle) into the obi, and adjusted with ojime (緒締, decorative closing bead). They were paired with kiseru 煙管 pipes, put away in tsutsu 筒 cases. Those pouches were used by men and women alike.
Tamoto otoshi (袂落とし) pocket sleeve pouches, put on around the neck over the underlayer, and accessed through the kimono sleeves openings. Several types existed, like kamiire ( 紙入れ small handbag, wallet), or straps holding handy tenugui towels. Those convenient pouches were used by men and women alike.
Kagami ire (鏡入れ) make-up pouch, often decorated with a hana kusari (華鎖, dangling charm), and holding several portable items: hake (刷毛, make-up brush), beni fude (紅筆, lipstick brush), beni ita (紅板, lipstick palette, the green hue is the mark of true safflower), oshiroi (白粉, face powder), tekagami (手鏡, handmirror), etc. Tbh, I found hard to distinguish modern kagamiire from hakoseko without being able to open them and check to content, especially as they can be a bit of both ^^;
Hakoseko (箱迫) women billfold-like clutch, slipped into the futokoro (bosom collar fold when a kimono is worn, just above a woman obi). Made from heavily decorated brocade, those were first used by women of the samurai class to carry kaishi (懐紙, tissue paper) and other small items like birabira kanzashi (びらびら簪, dangling hairpin) or nioi fukuro (匂い袋, perfume bag). Nowadays, those are mainly used for wedding or shichigosan attires.
Q for Quert (Apple) - September 2nd - September 29th
“Fruit of love - 10th month of the Celtic Tree Calendar (Ref)”
Star: Venus: Gemstone: emerald,; Gender: female; Patrons: Gaia, Aphrodite, Venus, Hera, Pomona, Nemesis, Astarte, Ishtar, Ceridwen, Olwen, Gwen, Arwen, Shekhinah, Freyja, Iðunn; Symbols: faith + gratitude, love + trust, tolerance + Abundance, self-respect, the work of fate.
The original species of apple is the crab apple. The crab apple belongs to the rose family and has short, flower-bearing young branches with thorns. The fruits are firm, round, acidic and vary in colour from yellow to crimson. September is the apple month, when the flowers bloom in late spring, the sweet fragrance is released and the fruit ripens.
Hazel, oak and apple are all legendary magical fruits, and it is believed that the three fruits together will fulfil all the needs of life. Birch, alder, willow, oak, holly, hazel and apple are designated as sacred trees in ancient Irish law. Of these, the apple and hazel were especially considered sacred trees, so much so that anyone who deliberately cut them down was punished with death.
In classical Western mythology, the 'Paradise Island', a paradise of fruit trees, was thought to contain the Tree of Wisdom, which bore three sacred apples. It is important to remember here that the apple, the fruit of love, was the food of the Celtic gods and they ate apples.
The apple tree, a favourite parasite of mistletoe, was regarded as sacred, especially by druids (Ref2). According to Druidic teachings, holy drops from heaven spilled over into the cauldron of Ceridwen, and the three drops that splashed out of the cauldron became the source of wisdom for the three apples that grow on the Tree of Wisdom. These three drops symbolise the three pillars of the Tree of Life in the Hebrew mystical philosophy of Kabbalah. These three pillars represent the masculine and feminine principles respectively, with the central pillar representing the union of the two. These also coincide with the most sacred symbol of the Druids, the 'three rays', each representing the power of vision, the power to manipulate letters and symbols, and the power to understand them. These strange three drops can be seen as a spiritual energy that gives life energy to all living things.
Legend has it that the Otherworld is a magical land of thickly growing apple trees, and that visitors from the Otherworld often come to this world carrying apple branches. Wearing a piece of apple wood is said to bring about a loved one and a long life, and is an essential part of good luck charms and spells. Apple trees were often planted in gardens in the British Isles, as they were believed to protect the home and bring love to it.
I wrote ‘best of both worlds’ and I look genuinely fascinated (I was as it was unreal), but ironically there may soon be a world devoid of four seasons.. that is a scary thought
Unaccompanied violin in a temple in the snow
雪と古寺と無伴奏ヴァイオリン🎻❄️
ずく出して楽しく頑張った
Freezing but sacred! Yes those are heat pads on my soles
From Nagano to the 1/f FANCLUB All Request show (the sheer amount of manuscript floating around the room..! It’s a lot. A lot of very different material!). You can stream it overseas too! And then it’s straight to Miyazaki for another shoot.
Glad that all three will be available for those outside of Japan too… can’t spill the beans, but stay tuned!!