Garden tours await

I found this beautiful image of Kuniyoshi via one of my favorite spaces, Japonisme. I stopped to say hi to her before I left for my whirlwind garden touring and voila- there it was. Yes, irresistible.

Gardeners in the North Bay are presenting a series of Garden Tours this week-end as a fund-raiser. I have my walking shoes on and extra batteries stashed in my little camera case. This is so exciting.... flowers, flowers, flowers await. A feature attraction of one of the gardens is Sheldon, a 40 year old tortoise who strolls around his garden. Hopefully, I will have a photo of him later.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday with friends and loved ones. I am in a good mood even though it is overcast. We just have to take our days the way they come.

The little trees had stories to tell

These little trees grow in the garden of the music studio where I have flute lessons. They have been growing for a lot time, watered by sun, music, clouds and dreams. Princess Haiku, they said to me as I inhaled the breath of their age. We have stories to tell, and blooms that belong to the far past as well as...

Princess Haiku spent the Afternoon Chatting with Lady Muraski Shikubu

Princess Haiku sipped a fine oolong tea with her dear friend, Lady Murasaki Shikubu. Lady Murasaki, she said, thank you for this gorgeous kimono. I feel so much more; well soignee in it. As far as your tales go; did you now that contemporary readers find them just as absorbing?

You can discover or reacquaint yourself with The Tale of Genji via.....

Follow their wonderful links to Heian Temples.

This is a captivating essay that I found on Heaven Tree.

Yet another link to the tales.

Snow Dance from Memoirs of a Geisha, said Princess Haiku is...

Memoirs of a Geisha is one of the most visually mesmerizing films that I have experienced. I highly recommend it despite the fact that the denouement falters and historical inaccuracies mar its perfection. It is enough to see this film for its glimpses into the secretive world of the Geisha. The film presents ravishing dance scenes including the famous, "Snow dance" choreographed by John deLucca and superb music. Below is a clip from YouTube and links to other video. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams; performers include Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Pro Musica Nipponia ensemble. Read an interesting review via DVD Central.

Princess Haiku in a tea Trance

Princess Haiku sipped a delicate bowl of olong gold at Teance Fine Teas in Berkeley. The new tea bar is on Fourth street and its fine tea perfect enough to induce tea trance. Where will this lead, asked Princess Haiku as she closed her eyes imagining steep mountains in the Far East, slipping into TEA MIND.

Japanese Tea Garden

Princess Haiku dreamed about the Japanese Tea Garden. Will you have some tea, the spirits of the Tea garden asked her?

Will you?

San Francisco Bans Plastic Bags: Furoshiki Rule

Yesterday, San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to ban the use of bags made of petroleum products. Kudos to San Francisco for its environmental friendly legislation. The buzz now is what will be used in the place of plastic bags. Princess Haiku says, it's time to return to traditional Japanese FUROSHIKI.

The Japanese already know this and furoshiki are now the thing. A furoshiki is a square cloth made of durable cotton or recycled fabric that is folded into a bag of sundry shapes and sizes. Furoshiki are practical, useful, washable, beautiful and reusable. In other words, the perfect solution to polluting the environment with tons of garbage bags.

Follow the links for precise descriptions and pictures of Furoshiki.

Mitsuo Katsui a leading designer in Japan has created dazzling, contemporary designs for these cloths. Pingmag has featured several articles on Furoshiki including several of Katsui's designs.

Cosplay : Your Mask or Mine

In Japan, about 50,000 thousand adults dress up regularly on weekends in a variety of colorful masks and costumes to create new identities for themselves. This sounds like great fun to me. We are all dressed up in costumes anyway; the problems is that we don't realize it. Princess Haiku, says, "It's time to Change your Mask" and come to the ghost ball. Luminous colors welcome.

Japan for the Uninvited: Cosplay