Joy of choosing new products

When I feel down, it makes me feel better to look at new products I might want to import from Kyoto.


When I decide what I want to get from Kyoto for my business, it's bit hard to choose what I want. Because I tend to choose what "I want" first and then start thinking "Hang on, I should get what people want instead!!"

But I think it's important to sell what I love- I want to share the joy of having Kyoto made Japanese fashion accessories. It's the colour, shape, history and people who make interests me.

Most of Nishijin products are made by an Nishijin weaving articst Shisen. I deal with her daughter to purchase Shien's products.

Most of Kyo Modern's chirimen products are made by various places and people in Kyoto.

For a personal reasons, I can't go back to Kyoto this year but I will keep eye on goodies that I might decide to import.

I miss going to markets in Kyoto. There are heaps!!I want to buy products for myself and Kyo Modern from there...

I've only been to Toji, Shimogamo shirine and Kitano tenmangu market. There are a lot more but I can never stay in Kyoto long enough. Most of markets are on monthly basis at a shrine or temple but because there are so many of them, there is always a market held every week. (It's not necessary on weekends).

Here are the some of the market names:

Kobou san market at Toji Temple

Chionin market at Chionin Hyakumanben

Kamigamo market at Kamigamo shrine

Tenjisan market at Kitano Tenmangu shrine

Be there early. There are usually many people at markets!

Mother's day gifts

Mother's day is coming soon.

In Japan, it is common to send carnations to mother.

I thought people would do the same in Australia but I see people send varieties of flowers and organise family gathering on Mother's day.

Since my mother is in Japan, I can't invite her for dinner or anything so I plan to order flowers online from a florist in Japan and organise delivery.  Life is getting so much easier with online shop!

If you are thinking of sending gifts to your mother, how about Nishijin gamaguchi?  Mothers and grandmothers often purchase this products for themselves.

Nishijin weaving is known to for rich colour and smooth texture. Inside the gamaguchi is supported by inner layers so it's very durable.

Pouches are pretty popular too. 

There will be more products uploading on the site soon.

Chinese lion dance and Japanese lion dance

I celebrate new year twice a year.

I celebrate 1st of January and Chinese new year as my husband has Chinese back ground.

When I saw Chinese lion dance for the first time, I thought it was very powerful compare to Japanese one and a lot more gaudy. (My husband said Japanese one looks cheap but anyway)

In Japanese, it's called "Shishi-mai"  (獅子舞) The roots of Japanese lion dance said to be from China which I expected but colour of lion, music and dance are very different. 

Chinese lion dance is pretty fast and music is loud with a drum. Japanese lion dances follows normal  to slow speed and music is relatively quiet with small drums and Japanese traditional flute.  Until recently, I didn't know the style of dancing and design of the lion differs by region in Japan. 

The one I know is a red wooden  face with green cloth body. I do remember Okinawa which is part of Japan but very close to Taiwan has lion with lots of hair. But I really thought the rest of Japan all has the same lion.

Japanese lion dance is not only performed on the new year day, also at regional festivals through out the year. 
It looks like the one I know (red face one) is only performed on the new year celebration? 

Lion dance in Kanto region which is Tokyo and surrounding regions is very different to the one I know of.  It's done by 1 person inside, the head of lion is above eye level and a dancer plays drum while he dances! 


I became particulary interested in Sanbiki shishi-mai (Three lions) from Kanto region.  Fukushima is famous for that too. 

One of the site I visit occasionally had a good details of Sanbiki shishi-mai. It's only available in Japanese but has few pictures to give you ideas of how they look like. 

Sanbikishishi-mai at Nagasaki shrine, Tokyo


There are many Japanese lion dance footage available on You Tune. I spent 30 hour browsing different style. Now I feel like visiting different regions to see different lion dances in Japan.  

Happy New Year to all!

I hope everyone had a good holiday. I've been back to work for a while now.

I ate "Osechi" which is traditional Japanese cuisine for the New Year's Day. Usually I'm in Japan this time of the year so I eat osechi made by my mother.

I did know that different family or different generations use slightly different ingredients to make osechi but I didn't know what each food represents.

The only thing I knew was Konbu(Seaweed) represents "Joy" as the name konbu sounds similar to "yorokobu" which means joy in Japanese.

There are other food such as "Tazukuri" which means making rice fields, "Kazunoko" for having many kids, etc.

My mother makes what's called "Meiji style Osechi". Meiji is the era from 1862 to1912 in Japan.
In Meiji stule osech, most of ingredients are brown or black. More modern "Heisei style Osechi" (1989-current) looks a lot more birhgter with colour of red and white.
I always thought I should inherite skill and style of making osechi from my mother but at the same time I thought "But I can't get all the ingredients in Australia. I could get some of them but they don't taste as nice"

So when I ordered osechi from one of Japanese chef, I wasn't expecting much but it was much nicer than I thought! I want to know where he gathered the ingredients from.

I ordered osechi from Urasan Japanese catering. It was $200 for 2 to 3 people. ($20 discount if you order early)

There were other places that were also offering osechi for similar prices. They are:

Hana Jurin: Located in Crows Nest. http://www.jurin.com.au/hana_jurin/
Blancharu: Located in Elizabeth Bay http://www.blancharu.com.au/
Shiki: Located in The Rocks:  www.shiki.com.au
Mino: Located in Mosman: www.mino.com.au
Ura san Japanese catering: Locagted in Sushi e in CBD. 0405 147 055 http://merivale.com.au/sushie

*Blancharu is a Japanese owned French restaurant. Their osechi is mix of western and Japanese cuisine
*Hana Jurin was the only one where the price was over $200 but that was because it was for 4 people.

If you are interested in eating osechi for the new year day in 2014, try contacting one of the restaurant above in December 2013!

Season's Greetings

Every year in Australia, someone always ask me if Japanese celebrate Christmas.

My answer is "Yes" but it's more of an excuse to have a party. For some reasons, we celebrate Christmas eve, not the Christmas day. And Christmas day is NOT public holiday.


I think celebrating Christmas culture started when my parents were little. (They are in their 60s now). But it was for people who could afford to do so. Many people were still very poor after the war.

As for me(born in 80s), I always celebrated Christmas with family and I believed in Santa Clause too.

I think many people still think Japanese are Buddhist therefore we don't celebrate Christmas but in fact, majority of us don't have religion. We celebrate whatever is fun and make money if we are running shops.

Having said that, new year eve and the new year day are very important for us.  Family member gather around, eat traditional new year cuisine, go to a shrine for a new year prayer, etc.

I'm usually back in Japan this time of the year but not this time. As much as I like Australia, I still prefer to be in Japan for new year's eve and the new year.

But I love Christmas spirit here!!  I bought more Christmas decorations this time and also bought many Christmas cookies from a lady I met at Kirribilli market. (Please refer to the photo)

Her business name is All That's Nice. You can find her from her facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/allthatsnicecookies?ref=ts&fref=ts

Thanks so much to all the people who supported Kyo Modern this year.  I wish everyone a bright and delightful holiday seasons!!

Soy Candle Aritist Takako

A friend of mine who will be sharing the stall at Kirribilli market on the 1st of December makes soy candles.


She makes soy candles with and without fragrance. Personally I like the one with fragrance.

Unlike ordinary candles that are made by mainly paraffin, soy candle doesn't have burnt smell. It is softer and has a low melting point.

Her candles comes in various sizes and with different decollations. I purchased stained glass ones before. And I just found out she started making Christmas candles too!

When I share a market stall with friends, I often end up buying their products for myself. I love my friends artworks.

You can find more information of what she does via her facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/reikot#!/CandlemakerTakakoYamamoto

Hope to see you all on Saturday!

New products

Christmas products are available at Beehive gallery、Romantic Notions and Tachi Hair Works

At Beehive galley, there are kokeshi cosmetic pouches, handmade hair accessories including new hair bands made of shibori, Santa on reindeer and cakes which are screen cleaners. There is also Christmas decorations for wall.  Of course, all these products are made of kimono fabric by craftsman in Kyoto, Japan! 

At Romantic Notions, there are kimono teddy bears and cake screen cleaners. I will be adding coin purses and small teddy bears soon. 






 

At Tachi Hair Works, there are new hair accessories and Christmas ornaments.
 





Christmas is only a month away now. I hope Kyo Modern's products will make good Christmas gifts for friends and families. 

Beehive Gallery (Gifts Shop)
Shop1 441-443 King Street
Newtown 2042 NSW 

Romantic Notions (Gifts Shop)
101 Longueville Rd, Lane Cove NSW 2066, Australia

Tachi Hair Works (Hair & Beauty Salon)
Shop 1, 272 Victoria Ave., Chatswood NSW