Japanese scroll

As mentioned in a earlier post I needed a Japanese scroll for my version of a Tokonoma.

Finally I found one on ebay which caught my eye and got it for a nice price :). It's a beautiful scroll with bamboo and a goose.
So this is how my Tokonoma looks now.
I bought another one so I can change the setting but this one isn't here yet.

A lovely skirt with kimono design

I am not a skirt lady however I do like them but rarely wear them.
But this skirt I really love so I wanted to show it to you guys.
It has a lovely kimono design and maybe I buy it so the skirt can hang in my closet and hopefully I wear it some day.

So very cute

Japanese room with a twist of mine

I have tatami mats, shoji doors, kimono tansu and home made zaisu (zaisu (座椅子^?) is a Japanese chair with no legs but a normal chair back) but still it didn't look like a real Japanese room.
So this vacation I decided (with the help of my BF) that we would change it so it would become a proper Japanese room at least my version.

under supervision of course 

preparation

We made a frame for the tatami of Iroko wood

We had to create a platform to get everything equal with the framing

up and running

my version of a tokonoma which still needs a Japanese scroll

brooch with a Japanese theme

A few weeks ago I was at a secondhand store just seaching for anything Japanese.
Mostly I never find anything but this time I found this cute little treasure.
The use for this brooch will be as a obi dome

As shown in the picture she has been damaged but still looks pretty.

My old tsukesage kimono

My old Tsukesage would be a lovely match with the brooch.













Tsukesage: a tsukesage has more modest patterns that cover less area, mainly below the waist, than the more formal homongi. They may also be worn by married and unmarried women 

Houmongi with ro obi

I gues it's been a year since I've done kitsuke which shows at the pictures but what a lovely color-combination this orange houmongi and light green ro obi.
The obi age which I used is also light green and the obi jime is orange, made of beads.
Hope you had a great liberation day.

exhibition Geisha part 2

At the exhibition there were photo's, drawings, pictures of Geisha's and of course kimono. Here are some more pictures, hope you will enjoy them.

OTOMARU 1906-1976

Born as Nagai Matsuko, she started taking singing and dancing lessons at the age of six and debuted as Geisha in the Shinbashi district of Tokyo at the age of 13.
Otomaru was one of the few Geisha's who wore Western clothing and hairstyles whenever possible.
She was famous mainly thanks to her singing career.
Her name, which means something like "music sound", is said to be an allusion to gramophone records.

Geisha relaxing outside the okiya

Nice (fake) blossom

More kimono

and more, this one of my favorite

A stunning obi with the crest of the okiya

Exhibition Geisha Leiden

Geisha is a world-renowned style icon. The Japanese with the stark white face, red lips and precious kimono is a phenomenon that fascinates the world and stimulates the imagination. A stereotype ofJapanese aesthetics, surrounded by mysticism and misunderstandings. 

The concept is even more than samurai geisha surrounded by a sensation of mysticism. The intriguing Japanese is a global source of inspiration for fashion designers, artists, photographers and writers. Once stood geisha symbol for trendsetting haute couture, now you can see her just as guardian of refined cultural traditions and etiquette. An epitome of courtesy, control and beauty.

The world of the geisha is exclusive and private. Geisha houses are visited by influential politicians and businessmen, on which it can be sure that what they discuss there remains absolutely confidential. An evening in a tea house in the company of geisha is not for everyone. It is exclusive, expensive and only for the happy few.

Through this private character countless stories circulating about their role in the nightlife. Comparisons with prostitution and oppression do justice to reality. In this world, women, big exception in Japan, the power: they themselves have in most Geisha- and tea houses, both in content and business, the leadership. In addition, young women choose for themselves to go to the long and intensive training, a voluntary commitment to a disciplined life of dancing, singing, study and performances.

National Museum of Ethnology works for this exhibition together with a geisha house in Kyoto, the main city of Japan geisha. Admire the paintings, the precious kimonos, obi and hair accessories, dressing tables, mirrors and musical instruments and with lacquer set tables. Meet the woman behind the phenomenon in especially for this exhibition made reports: personal stories about her motives, sacrifices and a constant search for perfection. GEISHA offers a unique look behind the scenes of a closed world.

Here's an impression of the exhibition many kimono are from Yoshifumi teahouse in kyoto.

 Soon I will post more pictures of this exhibition.