Category Archives: Obentō 02-076

Clothing, Obentō 01-061, Obentō 02-009, Obentō 02-076, Osaka 大阪, Presents

The Koshino Legend

21/04/2012 lamihome Leave a comment

Hiroko Koshino　ひろこ　こしの

Junko Koshino　じゅんこ　こしの

Michiko Koshino　みちこ　こしの

The family brand name is Koshino, which is written , but this shop and company have decided to “be different” and to use katakana and write it right to left – stand out from the crowd. If you’re famous, you can do almost anything!

コシノ　becomes　ノシコ

ノシコ

Here are the creations:

(You’d better have a nice cheque book!)

ノシコ

A TV promotion programme interviewing

guests to the exhibition opening:

“Huh? All the way from New Zealand?”

ノシコ

ノシコ
The Koshino Exhibition

ノシコ

Note that the signs above these shops are organised all three in a different way:
The tickets shop on the left is top to bottom, left to right.
The Koshino shop in the middle is right to left.
The shop on the right hand side is left to right: travel wave.

ノシコ

ノシコ
The Real Koshino

ノシコ

If you would like to explore some more:

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/AJ201109099792

http://junkokoshino.com/

http://www.elle.com/Runway/Ready-to-Wear/Fall-2010-RTW/HIROKO-KOSHINO/HIROKO-KOSHINO#mode=base;slide=0;

ノシコ

KD 3-034 To Wear, Mirai 2-061, Obentō 02-076

Who is wearing what?

21/03/2012 lamihome Leave a comment

500 To wear, KD 3-034 To Wear, Mirai 2-061, Obentō 02-076

To wear in Japanese

15/03/2012 lamihome Leave a comment

04 LA 091 Festivals まつり, 05 LP 054 Kyoto, Customs Culture, Famous Buildings Places, Heian Era, Hinamatsuri, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, KD 2-100 Heian Era Kyoto, KD 4-066 General Japanese Culture, Kyoto 京都, Mirai 2-061, Obentō 02-076

Heian Era 平安時代　へいあんじだい

12/06/2011 lamihome Leave a comment

Heian Era 平安時代へいあんじだい heian jidai

The Heian Period was a time period when the Imperial Court lived in great splendour and opulence. The common people did not, of course.

Heian Era 平安時代へいあんじだい heian jidai

The dolls represent courtly ladies who would be busy all day long talking about poetry, silk, hair dressing, make-up, children, men and status, and gossip and other equally important matters. Although every so often a lady would rise in fame because of her personality, her birth rank and her talents.

Hundreds of years ago, one of these courtly ladies, the Lady Murasaki, has been credited with writing the first novel in history. Also, over a period of time courtly ladies were the first women to develop the hiragana handwriting script, as a sort short-hand version of Chinese kanji.

Heian Era 平安時代へいあんじだい heian jidai

These photos were taken during various Kyoto Festivals all celebrating the glorious past of the Imperial Court and the aristocracy. We doubt there is a festival celebrating the Age of the Wretched Common Worker. Never mind – it’s colourful.

Each layer of kimono indicates a higher status level. Layers could be counted on the arm and around the neck. Mind you, to be realistic, if you were in the presence of a person who wore such an elaborate kimono, you would either wear one yourself, or you would be a servant. Either way, you would already know the other person, so you wouldn’t have a need to count kimono layers. Imagine that these days Queen Elizabeth II would have to explain to her guests that the glittering stones on her head are actually diamonds!

Here is a link to a support page:

JUNIHITOE

06 TT 066 Tokyo Landmarks, KD 3-039 Bamboo, Mirai 2-125, Obentō 01-155, Obentō 02-076

Bamboo shoots　竹の子　たけのこ

01/04/2011 lamihome Leave a comment

[keep going to the bottom of the page]

竹の子　　BAMBOO SHOOTS

There are many types of bamboo and the variety in these pictures is obviously the giant variety. Bamboo is being used for many purposes.

These days one doesn’t see much bamboo on building sites as aluminium is used more widely. However, the Greenies have been saying for quite a while that bamboo is stronger, renewable and doesn’t create “aluminium poisoning” at any stages. We’ll leave it for you to decide. It is still largely used in the building industry in other Asian countries, as the pictures above show, but not so much in Japan anymore.

Bamboo can be processed and it can be used particularly in clothing, flooring, furniture, wall panelling. In clothing it is regarded as strong, cheap, and healthy as the fibres allow “breathing” and “ventilation”, unlike a fair number of artificial fibres that cause perspiration.

Bamboo can also be eaten. The young shoots are delicious, while the older trunks are not suitable for consumption, unless one is particularly desperate.

This is what prepared cleaned bamboo shoots look like. When cut further into smaller strips, they can be added to みそしる, miso soup, or they can be added to cooked rice.

Why not let someone else do the work and get it in a jar?

Bamboo shoots are such a part of Japanese cooking, and this is the case for all Asian cooking. The bamboo shoots have such a positive feeling-image that it is used as a symbol in other situations as well. For instance, little cookies, even those covered with chocolate or filled with strawberry flavour, are still named , たけのこ, or bamboo shoots. It is only the shape that reminds people of the shoots.

What about this safety barrier? We are sure that there is a Post Box somewhere in Japan in the shape of a bamboo shoot. If not, it will be made soon! What about this play ground? Any child would want to slide down this shoot, wouldn’t they/you?!

Most of all, in Japan the word たけのこ has become associated with Young People in Yoyogi Park, near the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, Tokyo.

These young people are vigourous, enthusiastic, quite harmless and most entertaining: think of it as Walking Wearable Art. Here are some pictures that will give you the idea and amuse you:

原宿竹下通り
たけしたどおり
takeshitadoori

These are the shops on Takeshita Avenue in Harajuku.
Of course, Takeshita 竹下 means “Under the bamboo”.