24 Seasons [ Beginning of Spring ]
二四節気 [ 立春 ]
Hello, everyone! I hope you had a good start to the year.
As I previously mentioned we have four very distinctive seasons in Japan and we divided these up into a further 24 seasons that we call Niju-shi sekki 二十四節気. Even in todays’ modern era we have many traditional customs and events based on the Niju-shi sekki ancient calendar.
February 4th is the first day of spring in the calendar, Risshun 立春. It's been quite a warm winter this year and one of our cherry trees has already shown us its first blossom, one month earlier than usual.
Here are some of Wales’ national flower, the daffodil, for you. I wish you all a beautiful new season to come.
皆様、こんにちは。お元気ですか？さて新年に入りあっと言う間に二月となりましたが、いかがお過ごしですか？ 今日は二十四節気の始まり立春。暦の上では新しい季節となりました。こちらイギリスは雨の多く続いていましたが、例年よりひと月以上も早く、庭の小さな桜が開花してしまうほどの暖冬でした。そろそろあちこちでウェールズの国花でもある水仙の花も咲き始めています。皆様にとって素敵な季節となりますように。
The Japanese Tradition #1 [ Kiribako ]
日本の伝統 #1 [ 桐 箱 ]
These are wooden boxes called Kiribako in Japanese, meaning Paulownia wood box. This is an ancient Japanese storage tradition, born out of the humid Japanese climate. The wood is resistant to moisture so in our climate it’s an ideal material to use to protect valuable items. I've been using Kiribako for gift-wrapping along with washi handmade paper, which is also one of the Japanese traditions designated as a UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014. Washi paper is extremely durable and has such a lovely texture. I love using these traditional items to add a unique touch to my work.
七宝を始めた頃からずっと、作品を収めるのに使っているのが桐箱です。包みは旅行先の京都、和紙専門の店先で見つけた端切れを利用したり、茶道で使う懐紙をちぎってシールの様に扱っています。和紙のしなやかさやテクスチャーの温か味は本当に素晴らしく、数ある日本の伝統の中でも最も惹かれる工芸品の一つです。
I will try to post a new article according to the 24 Seasons calendar. The next will be on Thursday, the 19th February.
Thank you very much for visiting my blog! Hope you have lovely days until I see you next time :)
令和年初めての立春を吉日とし、今年は二十四節気の暦の沿ってブログを更新できたらと思っております。 是非又遊びにいらして下さいね。どうぞ素敵な美しい季節をお迎え下さい。