Entry #018:

2021 October 13

The Autumn of Sports, The Autumn of Reading, The Autumn of the Arts…In Japan, we’ve dubbed Autumn in these various ways, as the season is synonymous to relishing in these activities. But Autumn is most known as The Autumn of Savour. And not surprisingly, personally my greatest delight. For Japanese people, Autumn is associated with sweet potato, chestnuts, kabocha, mushrooms, pacific saury, grapes, pears, and persimmons. It’s the ultimate spread, and much anticipated when the temperatures begin to cool. And like wild fans who follow their favorite band on a cross country tour, so do we follow the foliage spread across the Japanese countryside from North to South. But really, that might just be the best excuse to take pleasure in the tastes of the season, in each region of the country. I’m currently brainstorming where I’d like to go to next, as I put together these fukubukuro. I hope you’re looking forward to them! 

♡ momoko

Microseasonal Stars

October 13 - 17

Autumn > Autumn Equinox > Heavy Fog Drapes

If you were to create a personal crest or seal, what would it look like?

Entry #017:

2021 October 8

Well that was a surprising earthquake last night. The Tokyo metropolitan area has been said to be way overdue for a massive earthquake for years now. The Japanese archipelago has been one with nature since its beginnings. So Japanese people have an innate understanding that each of us humans are part of the natural world, and that we by no means control it. We are one piece of this great, larger energy. And as such, are responsible for the type of vibration we create. There are earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic activity here in Japan. And simultaneously, there is a human pulse, such as kindness, consideration, empathy, along with envy, resentment, spite. As our planet makes its necessary adjustments from time to time, to ensure its sustainability, what are we choosing? How are we partaking?

♡ momoko

Microseasonal Stars

October 8 - 12

Autumn > Cold Dew > Wild Goose Return

It’s homecoming season. Have you recently called that friend or family member you’ve been thinking about lately?

Entry #016:

2021 October 3

A typhoon passed through on Friday, so this weekend we have been experiencing “taifu-ikka” or “typhoon passes”. It is a phrase that speaks to the blue skies that shimmer above after the heavy wind and rains. Isn’t this pretty much life in a nutshell! Sometimes I can’t help but smile to the point of a little belly laugh at the radical difference that a day makes. Weather and otherwise. I grew up dancing, mostly classical ballet, and my teacher would always say that a piece can’t be high jumps and fancy turns alone. It’s the modest yet exceptionally technical footwork, and the deep plies or bending of the knees, that highlight and propel the showy bits. On the days of taifu-ikka, I love that everyone seems to have a smile on their face (under their masks), and a sort of hop in their step. A shared moment between strangers.

Hazé-gaké: of the many ways in which to sun dry rice bushels, hazé-gaké is one of the most common. It uses bamboo or other wood rods to create a structure that resembles a saw horse. Rice bushels are bound at the base, flipped upside down, and straddled across the horizontal rod to dry naturally in the sun and wind. 

♡ momoko

Microseasonal Stars

October 3 - 7

Autumn > Autumn Equinox > Rice Fields Drain

What are you harvesting this Autumn that you planted as a seedling earlier in the year?