Dear Customers & Friends
Hello from Japan! This is Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.123.
*We are having New Year's holidays from December 27 to January 02(it may be December 26 to January 03 in your country). We are sorry we cannot do shipping or respond to e-mails during the holidays. Thank you very much for your patience and consideration.
I am writing this letter earlier than usual. I am going to Oita prefecture in Kyusyu this weekend. To prepare 'Tour J Artisan', I will visit an artisan, who makes supreme bamboo basket. It will be two days trip, and I have a little time to go around there. At our new site, we will introduce not only the merchandise, but also artisan's character, technique background, and the climate of the area where the artisan lives.Ichiro will trip the first some trips, but later Yuka or other staffs also visit artisan's places, and will report interesting items and articles.Let's discover what is waiting for you!
A few days ago our younger daughter Mugi passed the entrance exam of university. Both of our two daughters finished all the entrance examinations of their lives, and we are relieved they passed exams. In Japan entering the university is more difficult than graduating.
Our next ordeals are our daughters' Coming-of-Age Day celebrations. In Japan parents prepare furisode for the Coming-of-Age Day celebration, and daughters wear furisode and attend celebration as the memory of grown-up. Our elder daughter Shoko became 20 years old this October, and she will wear a furisode on January 9th. We know how brand new kimono become expensive, so we don't want to buy a furisode at brand new kimono retailers. For long time Yuka kept saying, 'Please buy a furisode for Shoko at auctions'. But I thought we had lots of furisode, and we could use any of them. In addition Shoko herself was not so interested in wearing a furisode. So we were too easy mood for long time. But recently we noticed that only several days left, if we make new furisode from 'karinui fabric' for her size. Sewing a kimono usually takes a month.We were preoccupied by younger daughter's entrance exam, and were not careful about the schedule. We tried several furisode from our stocks in a mad rush, but we couldn't find perfect one for her. We had to get her furisode karinui fabric immediately, and send it for sewing right away.
The day before yesterday I attended an auction in Osaka with firm resolution ( - ' I will buy for her furisode absolutely!"). I said it to a familiar kimono dealer Y san. She was astonished and said, ' I prepared furisode for my daughters about six months before the day. I can't believe you don't have it yet. Only a month and a few days are left!'The situation was tough for us, but Lady Luck smiled on us. At the ending of the auction, a fabulous red furisode karinui fabric was offered. It was red one and has fine flowers pattern ( like Kaga yuzen) on it, which was ideal one we discussed before at home. I determined to buy it for her, and dared to bid higher price as usual. But there was a higher bidder than me! We lost it.Y san laughed, and advised me to ask the winner to sell the piece with some profit. I followed her advice, asked him to sell and he was willing to sell it to us.I brought it home and showed to Shoko. We were very happy to know she liked it.We sent the furisode fabric yesterday. We made it!But we still have to find a matching obi and many accessories for the furisode in this month.
Yesterday Yuka called a beauty parlor to reserve on the Coming-of-Age Day. But already the reservations were full, and Shoko must go to the parlor at 4 a.m. She must get up early in the morning ( maybe 3 a.m. ) and go to the parlor. They will set her hair and dress her furisode. She must wear furisode from very early in the morning ( Can she bear wearing furisode for a long time?)Younger daughter Mugi was seeing our romp, and she said she prefers green furisode with rare design. We learned the lesson and will start preparing her furisode earlier.Yuka may wrote before, but some time ago it was said that if there are three daughters in a family, the family will go bankrupt by preparing kimono for them.To prepare a furisode and all the accessories to go with the furisode, it was said that you had to have about US $8000.(for one set).When daughters get married, parents used to have them bring kimono for each season, funeral kimono for (with lining and without lining), formal kimono and all the accessories. We used to see a big track with red and white ribbon and the back full of furniture in the transparent glass( so the people can see what the bride is bringing toher husband's house. Husband's parents invite the neighbors to see what the bride brought-they open all the drawers and show them all to the neighbors.This tradition sounds so old-fashioned but we could see these kind of trucks quite often before but we noticed we have not seen them for years.The average age of both men and women to get married is so high now, and we heard daughters ask their parents to give them money to buy a car or for a trip instead of making kimonos. Things are changing so rapidly, we are glad our daughter seem to be glad to be able to wear a furisode, and I am looking forward to see her in the furisodenext month.
** We added fabulous haori, charming antique items, pre-tied obi and fabrics.We hope you have sometime to check our new arrivals!
New Arrivals : http://www.ichiroya.com/item/search.php?md=1205
Thank you very much, domo arigato gozaimasu.
PS We went to a concert today - it was `Roger Wagner Chorale'. We savored the subarashii`wonderful' voice- it was a blissful moment. (Yuka)

Ichiro & Yuka WadaKimono Flea Market "ICHIROYA"http://www.ichiroya.com
e-mail: info@ichiroya.comaddress: Asia-shoji Bldg.301 1841-1 Nishi 1 chome Wakamatsu cho Tondabayashi city Osaka 584-0025 JAPANTEL&FAX ****( international number ) - 81-721-23-5446